Last weekend was the VIII Summit of the Americas held in Lima, Peru. What promised to be an interesting encounter thanks to the controversial American President, Donald Trump, the summit lost its momentum and the interest of the international community when he decided to cancel the trip to coordinate the retaliation attacks in Syria with England and France.
Although the main focus was addressing the Odebrecht scandal, the deep-state corruption case that began in Brazil and metastasized to several countries in South America–including the host of the summit, Peru, whose president resigned last month–the subject that gained media attention was the ongoing paralysis in Venezuela.
According to an article by The New York Times the Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos, left no doubt that his predecessor will inherit the “hot potato” when elected this Summer.
This growing humanitarian crisis, caused by massive immigration of Venezuelans that have sought refuge in Colombia, is a ticking time bomb. The overload of health and social services in a country that can barely satisfy the needs of its own citizens, is one of many moles of Santos’ disgraceful legacy.
Nonetheless, he loves the spotlight and the international catwalk. When asked about the sham elections in Venezuela on May 20th, he was proud to say that Colombia wouldn’t recognize the results should Nicholas Maduro win again.
The article also cited the intervention of Antonio Ledezma, former Mayor of Caracas. His passionate words were directed at the U.S. representative at the summit, Vice President Mike Pence. He urged him to convince the American Government to widen the scope of the economic sanctions against the Maduro regime and escalate the humanitarian aid to intervention aid.
As expected, not everybody agreed. The leftist Bolivian President, Evo Morales–a fervent fan of Nicolas Maduro–criticized the suggestion and said the United States is the principal threat to world peace and Mother Earth.
In light of the confusion in the region and lack of action from the neighboring governments I ask, “So, we do nothing?”
Like it or not, the U.S. is the only country that has the available tools to squeeze Maduro and his supporters, whether it’s ampler economic sanctions or strengthening the opposition in Venezuela. However, the disdain among the Latin American communities for the Yankees is stronger than the Venezuelan agony.
I frequently compare the United States with an acquaintance that nobody wants to invite to a party–aka Persona Non Grata. But, if at midnight, a couple of guests get drunk, start a fight and trash the place, everybody says, “Call the Americans! They know how to clean up this mess!“
Thanks for reading and sharing.
Xiomara Spadafora
Good crazy woman 