Venezuela Rejects OAS Request for Investigation Against It

Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza rejected that a group of experts from the Organization of American States (OAS) request that the International Criminal Court (ICC) open an investigation into crimes against humanity allegedly perpetrated in this South American country.

RELATED:

Juan Guaido Paid UK Legal Fees With Looted Venezuelan Money

Appointed by OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, the so-called "Panel of Independent International Experts" is composed of Manuel Ventura (Costa Rica), Santiago Canton (Argentina), and Irwin Cotler (Canada).

Arreaza pointed out that their request is in line with the interventionist actions that the United States deploys to destabilize the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

“Under the leadership of its current 'Sicario General', the OAS has a surplus of experts in coups d'état, invasions, interference, promotion of conflict, submission to Washington, and multilateral corruption. This panel brings together an excellent combination of all that expertise," Arreaza tweeted.

This group would be mandated to investigate alleged abuses committed by the Bolivarian government during violent demonstrations organized by the Venezuelan opposition. On April 27, 2017, however, Venezuela became the first country to request its exit from the OAS.

Criticism of the OAS as an instrument of U.S. geopolitical strategy is not new, nor is it limited to those made by Venezuela. In recent years, other progressive Latin American governments have also denounced its politically motivated actions.

In July, for example, former members of the Bolivian Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced that they would initiate legal action against the OAS secretary general for his role in the 2019 coup against President Evo Morales. From Mexico, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador proposed to create an authentically independent institution to replace the OAS.