‘STAND UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT’

Think carefully. That’s what CARICOM Member States and the Caribbean region as a whole are being urged to do, in relation to the situation in Venezuela, which is worsening by the day.

Julie Chung, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, United States Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, US Department of State, insisting that the unrest in Venezuela is not one that the world can sit aside and be blind to, maintained that “it is not a Venezuela problem, it is a problem for all of us”. In an exclusive interview with The Barbados Advocate, Chung, who made a visit to Barbados last week as part of a three-island Caribbean tour, said the US is looking to its CARICOM partners to be part of the international community that recognises Interim President Juan Guaido.

“It is not about taking sides, it is about being aware and being attentive to a crisis in Venezuela. You are not taking the side of any country or any political party, it is the side of humanity. So if that’s the choice, I urge CARICOM and all our Caribbean partners to think carefully,” she stated.

The US official added, “I know there are long-standing historical relationships with Venezuela and some of the countries have PetroCaribe debt, some of the countries have had positive relationships with Venezuela in the past. Having said that, I don’t dismiss that… [but] we need to think about the future and what are the calls of the Venezuelan people, what are their needs and I think we cannot look the other way anymore.”

With turmoil brewing in Venezuela in recent months, the National Assembly endorsed the self-appointed Interim President Juan Guaido. This came after concern was raised about the May 2018 election which saw President Nicolas Maduro returned to power, with claims that the election was rigged. Since Guaido, who is the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, contested the leadership of Maduro in January of this year, more than 50 countries have thrown their support behind him. But here in the Caribbean, the 15-member grouping that makes up CARICOM has maintained its position of “non-interference” and “non-intervention”, reiterating that at the end of the 30th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, which was held in St. Kitts and Nevis from February 26-27.

“…There has to be a meaningful and internal dialogue between the contending parties. This dialogue must determine how best the crisis can be resolved within the confines of the constitution and the rule of law, whether by referendum, elections or any other agreed mechanism. Nothing short of this will lead to the quelling of this crisis or provide the relief that all Venezuelans desire,” the grouping said in the statement.

Speaking to this newspaper, Chung explained that Venezuela is one of the United States’ top policy priorities right now and a matter that they have been very concerned about for some time. She bolstered that point, noting that the political tensions over the last few years have resulted in some three million people leaving Venezuela for other countries. The State Department official expressed concern about the number of people who are fleeing Venezuela because of the humanitarian crisis in that country.

“These are not issues isolated to Venezuela, with the migrants fleeing, that affects many in the region. We have a large diaspora and this is something we can’t ignore, we can’t turn a blind eye to… I feel like it is upon all the democratic countries and partners in the world to stand up for the people of Venezuela. This is a choice, this is a time when you stand up for what is right and what is good and we have called for free and fair elections and humanitarian aid to be let in,” she stated.

Chung, who only took up her post as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State last November, spoke of the blocked efforts to take aid to the country. She explained that she was on the first C-17 flight which delivered aid to the border of Cucuta, Colombia a few weeks ago.

“We were able to deliver it to the warehouse, we didn’t actually take it across the border and subsequently we saw as they were trying to take the aid across some of the border points, that the military security forces … attacked the people trying to get the aid or burned the trucks,” she indicated.

An incensed Chung denounced the action, contending that “there is no bigger crime than burning up toilet paper and basic foods”, which are meant for children and people in hospitals. Such actions, she suggested, should be condemned as she described them as “sick and cruel”.