Venezuela Clashes With US Bloc At OAS Meeting Over Humanitarian Aid, Elections

Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN Samuel Moncada during a special council meeting at the Organization of American States (OAS) pushed back against demands by the United States and its allies to hold elections and the bloc's plans to deliver so-called humanitarian assistance

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2019) Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN Samuel Moncada during a special council meeting at the Organization of American States (OAS) pushed back against demands by the United States and its allies to hold elections and the bloc's plans to deliver so-called humanitarian assistance.

Earlier in the day, the State Department announced that US officials will be aboard a military aircraft that the United States is sending to the Venezuelan border on Saturday to deliver aid to the crisis-torn country. The International Center of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Columbia earlier this week said it would not help distribute the goods because it does not consider the US assistance to be true humanitarian aid.

"You have built a mountain of lies, all sorts of manipulations, accusations, [and] a fantasy world to confuse millions of people [about] what occurs today in Venezuela. Today, I am here to stay in touch with reality and tell our truth to the world," Moncada told the OAS members on Friday. "We have to remove the fog of lies from the eyes of the majority of people and the international public opinion. Each state has a sovereign right to recognize whomever they want. To chase us from here, you need to respect the [OAS] Charter."

The United States and several allies, who have backed self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, have been urging President Nicolas Maduro to step down and calling for new elections in Venezuela. Maduro has accused Washington of orchestrating a coup and said the humanitarian aid is part of the ploy to topple his government.

Meanwhile, during the same meeting on Friday, the United States and its allies within the OAS, including Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Guatemala, among others, demanded new elections to be held in Venezuela.

"As head of the transitional government, interim president Juan Guaido has clearly stated his plans to call new elections at the earliest possible date," US Ambassador to the OAS Carlos Trujillo said. "We support interim president Guaido's plan, at the same time, we should remember that elections alone do not make a democracy."

The OAS member-states also proposed the formation of a group of experts to rebuild electoral institutions in Venezuela.

"It has been said that electoral institutions in Venezuela have lost all credibility and they have become an instrument to legitimize tyranny," Colombian Ambassador to the OAS Alejandro Ordonez Maldonado said. "This system does not have the capacity to live up to the standards of transparency and definitely inspires no trust."

The US bloc also called for an immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Venezuela, which drew criticism from the Venezuelan Ambassador who stressed that US allies use a humanitarian aid narrative to justify military action and to hide "cruel ambition."

Moncada added that in order to end the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, the United States, as well as its allies, should stop the economic blockade against Venezuela and lift the sanctions imposed.

On January 23, Guaido, the head of the opposition-led parliament, declared himself interim president and disputed Maduro's re-election, which took place last year. Russia, China, Mexico, Turkey, Uruguay, and several other states have said that they supported Maduro as the country's only legitimate president.