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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element" dir="ltr"> <a
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<h1 class="reader-title">The “Lima Group” Pretence to Be an
International Body Is Irresponsible and Dangerous</h1>
<div class="credits reader-credits">By Nino Pagliccia -
Venezuelanalysis.com - January 10, 2019<br>
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<p><em><strong>Sixty years ago Canada did not
break diplomatic relations with Cuba
while the OAS expelled Cuba from the
organization after the triumph of the
Cuban Revolution. Today the OAS remains
firm with its mandate of no interference
while Canada is leading an illegitimate
splinter of OAS countries, self-anointed
as Lima Group, to push for regime change
in Venezuela. That is irresponsible and
dangerous.</strong></em></p>
<p>At this time sixty years ago Cuba had just
won its revolution through a popular
uprising that overthrew a dictator. Two
years later in 1961 the US masterminded a
false flag invasion of Cuba that failed.
Later, in 1962 the Organization of American
States (OAS) turned against Cuba and
expelled it from the organization isolating
the country until 2009 when the OAS invited
Cuba to join again. Cuba declined. The US
has maintained a progressively squeezing
unilateral trade and financial blockade on
the island since 1960.</p>
<p>Since that January 1, 1959 Canada has taken
mostly an independent stance on Cuba and has
maintained diplomatic and commercial
relationships with the country. Even today
when the US government places Cuba as a
member of the "troika of tyranny" together
with Nicaragua and Venezuela, the Canadian
government is practicing a formal
association with the Cuban government still
overtly declared socialist. It may well be
in order to protect the extensive interests
built over time without the competition of
US businesses. But that is a different
topic.</p>
<p>Today in a different socialist revolution
in Venezuela we have a reversed situation.</p>
<p>Hugo Chavez has won the presidency of
Venezuela through democratic ballots in
1999, as current president Nicolas Maduro
did in 2013. All 25 elections at different
levels in the last twenty years have been
democratic and constitutional with
participation of opposition parties. This is
an undeniable truth despite misinformation
from the compromised media and governments.</p>
<p>Unlike its past position towards Cuba, the
OAS has repeatedly refused to condemn
Venezuela even under the strongest pressure
from Washington. The organization has seen
fit to abide by the OAS Charter of 1948 that
in Article 19, Chapter IV states: "<em>No
State or group of States has the right to
intervene, directly or indirectly, for any
reason whatever, in the internal or
external affairs of any other State. The
foregoing principle prohibits not only
armed force but also any other form of
interference or attempted threat against
the personality of the State or against
its political, economic, and cultural
elements</em>."</p>
<p>Breaking that explicit mandate and contrary
to its independent position with respect to
Cuba sixty years ago, Ottawa has been
instrumental in the creation of the
so-called Lima Group with the sole mission
of regime change in Venezuela.</p>
<p>For the record it has to be emphasized that
the "Lima Group" is not an international
organization. It's just an <em>ad hoc</em>
group of governments with no other purpose
than to promotes the overthrow of the
legitimate Maduro government.</p>
<p>In that context its latest declaration that
calls to not recognize Maduro’s presidency
beginning with the inauguration ceremony on
January 10, and to impose various other
forms of “punishment”, cannot to be taken as
a formal resolution issued by an established
international body like the OAS or the UN.
Unfortunately, the Venezuelan opposition
conveniently chooses to take it that way.
For example, the self appointed members of
the “Supreme Court of Justice” in exile
issued their own call to “recognize the Lima
Group resolution.” That is extremely
misleading, irresponsible and dangerous.</p>
<p>The “Lima Group” of 13 governments (out of
33 OAS member States), signatories of the
declaration (Argentina, Brazil, Canada,
Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala,
Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru y
Saint Lucia), is totally illegitimate in its
pretension to be an international body. The
group wants to achieve outside the OAS what
it could not achieve within the OAS.
Ultimately, it will have to be held
accountable as the foreign ideological
instigator of any violence that might occur
in Venezuela.</p>
<p>Despite the above necessary explanation of
a clear international illegal act that
tramples on the sovereignty of another
country, it is important to broaden the
perspective of the situation by highlighting
two points. First of all, the Mexican
government, although member of the “Lima
Group”, has not endorsed its document. More
sensibly, it justified its abstention by
requesting that an open dialogue be
established with the government of Venezuela
instead of imposing isolation and threats.
Mexico was another country that maintained
diplomatic relations with Cuba 60 years ago.
It seems to be more consistent than Canada.</p>
<p>Secondly, by a reported count, it appears
that the majority of countries in the world
will accept the legitimacy of Nicolas
Maduro’s presidency and will recognize his
government for the next six years. In fact,
a few heads of State may even attend the
inauguration ceremony on January 10 in
Caracas.</p>
<p>In concluding however, not for one second
anybody should expect that the elected
president of Venezuela, or of any other
country for that matter, must be declared
legitimate by any foreign State. That
privilege belongs only to the six million
244 thousand Venezuelans, representing 32%
of the total number of people with the right
to vote, with more than 4 million votes
ahead of the candidate who came in second,
and with a voter participation of 48%. By
all accounts Venezuelans have chosen their
president democratically for the next six
years. That is the meaning of
self-determination.</p>
<p><em>The views expressed in this article are
the author's own and do not necessarily
reflect those of the Venezuelanalysis
editorial staff.</em></p>
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