Vice President Pence reminded his audience that, while the U.S. was focusing on economic and diplomatic pressure to restore democracy to the people of Venezuela, all options remain on the table
Vice President Pence Calls for UN Action Against the Maduro Regime
By Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist ——Bio and Archives--April 13, 2019
Vice President Mike Pence came out swinging in his remarks Wednesday at a special session of the United Nations Security Council on the crisis in Venezuela. He described in vivid terms the misery and suffering that the Maduro regime has inflicted on the people of Venezuela, causing more than three million Venezuelans to leave the country out of sheer desperation, and the threat the Maduro regime’s repressive policies have posed to the peace and security of the wider region.
“Venezuela is a failed state, and as history teaches, failed states know no boundaries,” Vice President Pence said. “Drug traffickers, criminal gangs, even terrorists like Hezbollah, are exploiting the chaos in Venezuela to gain a foothold in the region and export crime and violence. Were we to let the crisis continue, the chaos and suffering will only spread.” Vice President Pence then declared, “Nicolás Maduro is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power, and Nicolás Maduro must go.”
The depth of the humanitarian crisis was described in stark terms by Mark Lowcock, the UN humanitarian chief, before Vice President Pence delivered his remarks. “The context is a severe and continuing economic contraction, with associated dramatic increases in inflation, on a scale seen in few if any other countries around the world in recent years,” Mr. Lowcock told the Security Council.
3.7 million are believed to have suffered from undernourishment in 2018. 2.8 million people are estimated to need health assistance. 17 per cent of people living in poverty have no access to safe water, or receive it only once every two weeks.
It is against this backdrop and predictions that, if present trends in the mass exodus of people from Venezuela continue, the total number of Venezuelans outside the country will exceed 5 million by the end of this year, that Vice President Pence called upon the United Nations to take more effective action on behalf of the Venezuelan people.
Fifty-four nations have so far joined the United States in recognizing Interim President Juan Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela. The Organization of American States - the oldest regional organization in the world - recognized the Guaidó government’s representative as the only true representative of Venezuela. Now, Vice President Pence said, it was time for the United Nations to do the same. “Up to this point, while other international bodies have acted, the United Nations and this Security Council have refused to act,” the vice president said, noting vetoes by Russia and China of a resolution proposed by the United States that would have called for the restoration of democracy in Venezuela and for the Maduro regime to allow all humanitarian aid to enter the country. “But now that nations across this hemisphere have spoken, the time has come for the United Nations to recognize Interim President Juan Guaidó as the legitimate President of Venezuela and seat his representative in this body. This body should revoke the credentials of Venezuela’s representative to the United Nations, recognize Interim President Juan Guaidó, and seat the representative of the free Venezuelan government in this body without delay.”
Vice President Pence looked directly at the current UN ambassador from Venezuela sitting across from him and said, “you shouldn’t be here. You should return to Venezuela and tell Nicolás Maduro that his time is up. It’s time for him to go.”
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The current Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, wasn't amused. He accused the United States of using discussion of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela as a pretext for foreign military intervention and blamed the suffering of the Venezuelan people on the “calculated cruelty” of the U.S. and its allies. Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, said the U.S. was looking to install its own “pawn.” He charged that the U.S. was engaging in a “lawless, thuggish violation of international law.”
The United States will be presenting a resolution to pressure the UN member states of the General Assembly to accept the credentials of Interim President Guaidó’s designated representative to the UN in lieu of the current ambassador. The matter would be expected to come before the General Assembly’s Credentials Committee first, with the ultimate decision made by the General Assembly as a whole. A two-thirds vote may be required to approve the U.S. proposed resolution, which would be a very difficult hurdle to overcome.
In any event, Vice President Pence reminded his audience that, while the U.S. was focusing on economic and diplomatic pressure to restore democracy to the people of Venezuela, all options remain on the table.
Vice President Mike Pence came out swinging in his remarks Wednesday at a special session of the United Nations Security Council on the crisis in Venezuela. He described in vivid terms the misery and suffering that the Maduro regime has inflicted on the people of Venezuela, causing more than three million Venezuelans to leave the country out of sheer desperation, and the threat the Maduro regime’s repressive policies have posed to the peace and security of the wider region.
