The Obama administration is sending Ambassador Tom Shannon to Caracas today to meet with senior Venezuelan officials and leaders of the political opposition.
The U.S. strategy on Venezuela continues to be multi-pronged: promoting diplomacy directly while taking a stronger stance multilaterally through the Organization of American States.
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The visit by Shannon, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, comes in the wake of President Nicolás Maduro’s administration blocking a recall referendum that could have led to his ouster. The United States supported the referendum.
“His visit will underscore our support for the ongoing dialogue process, and our interest in the well-being of the Venezuelan people,” according to a State Department statement.
While some former U.S. leaders have called for sanctions against Venezuela, the Obama administration has resisted taking any unilateral action that could come across as imperialism. That hasn’t stopped it from pressing for the region to use the tools available through the United Nations-like OAS to ensure Venezuela upholds “its obligations and commitments related to democracy and human rights.”
His visit will underscore our support for the ongoing dialogue process, and our interest in the well-being of the Venezuelan people.
State Department
State Department officials said they were working with other governments in the region to press Venezuela “to live up to the hemisphere’s shared commitment to democracy, as articulated in the OAS Charter, the Inter-American Democratic Charter.”
Under the charter, members of the OAS agree to be governed democratically. If the OAS determines that Venezuela has violated the charter, it could be suspended from the 34-nation group.
Email: fordonez@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @francoordonez.