In response to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's brazen
attempts to hold onto power indefinitely, the international community has moved
to isolate the country, while imposing increasingly broad and stringent
sanctions. But more must be done to secure a peaceful transition to legitimate
democratic rule.
CARACAS – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his
administration have ruined their country. While they claim to be redeemers of
the poor and trumpet their readiness to fight for their “selfless” Bolivarian
cause, they refuse international assistance, forcing Venezuelans either to
emigrate or suffer (and, in many cases, die) from severe shortages of food,
medicines, and medical supplies.
The destruction of Venezuela must be stopped urgently if its
viability as a state and a society is to be reestablished. That requires a new
government of unquestionable legitimacy, chosen through a free and fair
presidential election before the end of this year, as dictated by the
constitution. To be sure, Maduro and his associates will not simply step down,
as losing power would likely mean long prison terms in the United States for
drug trafficking or in The Hague for crimes against humanity. Such charges have
been substantiated by US prosecutors, the Organization of American States(OAS) and its independent
experts, and by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In fact, the regime has recently become even more defiant and
aggressive. It has cut short all “dialogues” to achieve peace in Venezuela,
including in May, when – amid talks with the opposition – the authorities held
a sham presidential election. More than 70% of the electorate boycotted the
fraudulent vote, heeding calls by the Venezuelan opposition and many other
democratic governments worldwide. As expected, the heavily rigged election delivered a victory to Maduro,
who now claims a mandate to serve a second six-year term, ending in 2025.
Now, Maduro is working to entrench an increasingly
authoritarian dictatorship, with the help of a new “constitution”, which is
expected soon from the fraudulently elected National Constituent Assembly that
sanctioned the “presidential election” in May. The referendum to approve the
new constitution will naturally be organized again by the regime-controlled
electoral authority.
Currently, the regime’s brazen last-ditch attempt to
monopolize power indefinitely is being met by increasing international
pressure. Having verified its massive corruption, human-rights violations, and
crimes against humanity, the international community now recognizes that the
principle of non-interference in countries’ internal affairs no longer applies.
Earlier this month, the Peruvian representative at the UN Human Rights Council–
with support from 53 member states – chastised the
Venezuelan regime for still not changing its ways. After all, by rejecting
international humanitarian assistance, the Maduro regime has all but
acknowledged that it is intentionally maintaining the humanitarian crisis it
has created as a tool of repression. The regime also continues to defy the
2001 Inter-American Democratic Charter.
Thus, the international community has moved to isolate
Venezuela, while imposing increasingly broad and stringent sanctions. But more
must be done. For starters, a “recovery trust fund,” much like the one established in Syria, could
help to keep more Venezuelans in their homes, while protecting them from the
regime’s efforts to worsen their plight.
A negotiated transition must include a poverty-eradication
program, as well as a law on transitional justice and national reconciliation
that brings to justice those who have committed grave violations of human
rights and other crimes, including by banning them from any political activity.
The negotiation of each case, including the return of stolen funds, should be
carried out discreetly, potentially in cooperation with religious institutions.
All tasks required to ensure a peaceful transition by the end
of this year, when Maduro’s legitimate first term of office ends, should be
integrated in a roadmap with deadlines for implementation, perhaps presented by
Pope Francis himself. Such a text, ideally made public before the end of
August, should not be submitted for the approval of the regime or the
opposition, as both are too fractured to agree on anything. Failure to comply
would then justify less conventional mechanisms to halt the suffering and
destruction of Venezuela.
Easier said than done. The gravity of Venezuela’s situation
and its effects on the entire hemisphere have thus far proved insufficient to
mobilize a majority of OAS governments to convince Maduro that the region’s
democracies will not stand by idly while a totalitarian dictatorship and base
for international organized crime emerges.
The regime has coopted the entire state and much of the
opposition leadership, leaving only the people in the streets to resist the
regime and to be gunned down yet again by its forces. There must be some
assurance by Latin America’s democracies that this will not be allowed to
happen – an assurance that could protect them should they ever be faced with a
similar catastrophe.
Once a new democratic government is in place, UN and OAS
missions should be regarded as crutches that would support the country on the
path back toward democracy and development. International assistance would be
needed, for example, to help disarm the population (especially the
paramilitary colectivos), professionalize the military and police
forces, reform the judiciary, manage the transitional justice program, recover
stolen funds, and rebuild the health system.
Finally, looking to the future, adding a protocol to the
Inter-American Democratic Charter has become necessary in order to expedite the
compulsory enforcement of its provisions in emergency situations, particularly
where the internationally recognized Responsibility to Protect comes into play.
The regime’s resistance to formal in loco visits by UN and OAS
bodies and special rapporteurs has not stopped them from producing such reports
and substantiating their findings by other means. Practically, this must all be
wrapped up before mid-December, when a new president should, and must, be
elected in free and fair elections supervised by the UN and the OAS. / Tomado de Project Syndicate.
Enrique ter Horst, former Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General in El Salvador and Haiti, was UN Deputy High Commissioner for
Human Rights.
Miguel Rodriguez Mendoza, former Deputy Director of the World
Trade Organization, is an international consultant working on trade and
economic issues.
