After months of attacking Venezuela's unpopular President Nicolas
Maduro, Latin America came out strongly against U.S. threats of military
action against the crisis-hit nation.
Venezuela's
Presidente Nicolas Maduro gestures as he speaks during a session of the
National Constituent Assembly at Palacio Federal Legislativo in
Caracas, Venezuela August 10, 2017.Ueslei Marcelino
U.S.
President Donald Trump's surprise comments on Friday may bring the
beleaguered Maduro some respite in the region, just as Venezuela was on
verge of becoming a pariah over its recent installation of a legislative
superbody, widely condemned as a power grab by the ruling Socialists.
Following
Trump's assertion that military intervention in Venezuela was an
option, Maduro's critics are caught between backing the idea of a
foreign invasion of Venezuela or supporting a president they call a
dictator.
The sudden escalation of Washington's
response to Venezuela's crisis preceded U.S. Vice President Mike
Pence's trip to the region beginning Sunday. He is set to visit
Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and Panama.
Trump did not specify what type of options he had in mind.
Venezuela's
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino on Friday disparaged Trump's warning
as "craziness" and Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Saturday
Venezuela rejected "hostile" threats, calling on Latin America to unite
against Washington.
"We want to express
gratitude for all the expressions ofsolidarity and rejection of the use
of force from governments around the world, including Latin America,"
said Arreaza, in a short speech on Saturday.
"Some
of these countries have recently taken positions absolutely contrary to
our sovereignty and independence but still have rejected the
declarations of the U.S. president."
It was
one of Maduro's fiercest critics, Peru, that led the charge in
criticizing Trump's threat, saying it was against United Nations
principles. Mexico and Colombia joined in with statements of their own.
Regional alliance Mercosur added that it
rejected the use of force against Venezuela, despite having indefinitely
suspended the country last week amid international condemnation of
Maduro's new, all-powerful "constituent Assembly".
After
four months of deadly protests against his government, Maduro says the
assembly is Venezuela's only hope of obtaining peace by locking in the
socialist policies of his mentor and predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez.
Critics say the assembly is a bald maneuver by Maduro to cling to power
as his popularity slumps under the weight of the country's economic
crisis.
Peru expelled Venezuela's ambassador in Lima on Friday, but that did not stop it from criticizing Trump's threat.
"All
foreign or domestic threats to resort to force undermine the goal of
reinstating democratic governance in Venezuela, as well as the
principles enshrined in the U.N. charter," said Peru's Foreign Minister
Ricardo Luna.
Peru under President Pedro
Pablo Kuczynski had taken the toughest stance yet toward Venezuela's
socialist government, and has openly called Maduro a "dictator".
RESCHEDULED ELECTION
The
new legislative superbody, which made waves last weekend by firing a
dissident chief prosecutor, took new action on Saturday on the country's
election timetable. It unanimously passed a resolution to move the
country's Dec. 10 governors' election up to October.
Assembly
members said the decision was made in part because the election had
been delayed due to "opposition-led violence." More than 120 people have
died in unrest and anti-government protests since April.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) was asked by the assembly to set the exact date for the governors' election.
Venezuela is undergoing a crisis in which millions are suffering from food and medicine shortages and high inflation.
The
ruling Socialist Party has for years accused the United States of
plotting an invasion as a way of controlling its oil reserves, the
world's largest, through a military intervention similar to the Iraq
war.
Previous U.S. administrations had
brushed this off as politicized rhetoric meant to distract from
Venezuela's domestic problems.
Under former
President Barack Obama, the State Department in 2015 made quiet
diplomatic overtures that led to several high-level meetings. The effort
ultimately foundered as Maduro hardened his stance against opposition
critics.
Venezuela's Information Minister Vladimir Villegas
on Saturday tweeted a picture of the Statue of Liberty holding a machine
gun instead of a torch, and a link to an article describing, "A
Chronology of U.S. 'Military Options' in Latam and the Caribbean."