OAS Rejects Venezuela's Proposal to Discuss Disappearance of Ayotzinapa Students

The Generall Commission of the Organization of American States rejected all ten of Venezuela's proposals for its debate session Wednesday afternoon, including a call to discuss the case of the 43 Mexican students who disappeared from Ayotzinapa.

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Despite the OAS's continued earnestness in discussing the internal affairs of Venezuela, the human rights issues of Mexico, including the 43 disappeared students, was not accepted for discussion.

According to the official version of events presented by Mexican authorities, students from Ayotzinapa teacher's training college, which is renowned for political activism, were going to a demonstration in a bus when they were pulled over. A group of police officers allegedly detained 43 students and gave them to a cartel that killed them and burned their bodies.

Several independent investigations have contested the events and allege that federal police and the attorney general's office all played a role in the disappearances. The Mexican government denies these claims and blames criminal organizations and local police.

Relatives continue to seek justice and answers from the state.

After Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez met with relatives of the disappeared students, Venezuela raised the issue before the body to express “its solidarity with the families of the disappeared, and the demand for truth, justice and reparation for victims and society as a whole.”

Other proposals put forth by Venezuela that were rejected by the OAS on Wednesday included discussions of the United States' border wall with Mexico, the expansion of U.S. military bases, and the U.S. departure from the Paris Agreement against climate change.