OAS chief appeals to US, Venezuela to find diplomatic solution instead of war

In an interview broadcast on social media, he said the hemispheric body hoped that the tensions would not escalate into a “war-type situation” and preserve the Caribbean as a zone of peace. “I hope that both countries—Venezuela and the United States—do restrain themselves and make sure that whatever paths can be found diplomatically, negotiations, to solve their problems at a different level, that should be having the priority,” said Ramdin, a former Suriname foreign minister. “We don’t want any war in our hemisphere,” he told Caribbean journalist, Wesley Gibbings.

The call comes as fears mount that the US military build-up in the Caribbean is more about toppling Venezuela’s Nicholás Maduro administration than going after narco-traffickers.

Already, the US has declared the Cartel de los Soles as a narco-terrorist organisation whose leadership allegedly includes Maduro.

Ramdin’s call also coincided with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Donald Trump’s primary military adviser, General Dan Caine’s visit to American troops in Puerto Rico and his visit to Trinidad and Tobago where he was due to meet with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

He said while there was no objection to fighting transnational organised crime, the method must be backed by law and proof. “We must carry these attacks out in the context of international law and also human rights but also with justifiable evidence,” Ramdin stated.

So far, the US has struck 21 boats and killed 83 persons who the Trump administration alleged were taking cocaine to the US, but no evidence has been provided.

Bissesar and Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali have unequivocally backed the US in going after transnational criminals.

The OAS Secretary General said the issue has not been discussed in the western hemispheric body but Colombia recently raised it in the context of combating transnational crime.

He acknowledged that governments with the same “tools” would be unable to fight transnational criminals because they have illegally acquired advanced technologies and dirty money.

He suggested that countries amend their laws to tackle those criminals without violating human rights. “I’m all in favour of respecting constitution and laws but when you have this unequal battle and we want to win that battle, then we have to find, in a creative way, a new legal framework that gives the authority to the governments to fight crime with more tools in their hands with due respect for human rights,” said Ramdin, also a former Assistant Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).