The lack of democracy in Venezuela was the object of condemnation and concern of many of the countries participating in the Summit of the Americas in Lima and there was a clamor to ask Nicolás Maduro to allow interantional aid to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
Banned by the Peruvian government, first by former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, and later by Martín Vizcarra, who has been in the presidency for three weeks, the Venezuelan president was able to participate in the VIII Summit of the Americas.
Initially, Maduro had assured that he would participate against all odds but gave up on the grounds of lack of guarantees for his safety.
Although there was no consensus at the Summit, a group of countries, including the United States and the Lima Group, issued a statement in which they assure that the elections convened by Maduro lack legitimacy and credibility.
The Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, who heads the delegation of his country in the absence of Donald Trump, said that his country
will not rest until democracy is restored in Venezuela and the Venezuelan people regain their right to freedom.”
The day before, he advocated for “more sanctions” and “more diplomatic pressure” to “isolate” Maduro’s regime, who, true to his style, called the hemispheric conclave a “total failure”.
Pence also announced humanitarian aid for Venezuelans from the diaspora in Brazil and Colombia, he asked his allies for “support to face the humanitarian crisis,” after meeting with a group of the Venezuelan opposition, including Julio Borges and Antonio Ledezma.
This Saturday, the leaders of Argentina, Chile and Colombia, who are among the most affected by the exodus of Venezuelans, asked the rest not to recognize the elections of May 20th called by Maduro, which holds political prisoners and has banned the participation of some parties in the elections.
Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, and the Cuban delegation were the continent’s only survivors in favor of the XXI Century Socialism that was advocated by the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez.
With an inflation that will climb to 13,000% in 2018, according to the International Monetary Fund, with shortages of food and medicines, Venezuela is experiencing an unprecedented political and social crisis. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have opted for emigration, mainly to Colombia, Chile, Brazil or Argentina.