New York/IBNS: The latest twist in Venezuela’s ongoing political crisis “make urgently needed dialogue even more difficult to achieve”, the UN Secretary-General has said.
In addition to rival Presidents, the oil-rich South American country now has two men claiming to be Speaker of the National Assembly.
The latest turn occurred on Sunday when opposition leader Juan Guaidó was blocked from entering the National Assembly building in the capital, Caracas, during voting for a new Speaker.
Guaidó, the National Assembly leader who declared himself interim President last January, was hoping to be re-elected to the post, which is appointed annually.
While former ally Luis Parra declared himself Speaker, opposition members re-elected Mr. Guaidó in a separate session held that day at a newspaper office.
UN chief António Guterres has been following the developments “with concern”, according to a statement issued on Monday evening by his spokesperson.
The events “make urgently needed dialogue even more difficult to achieve,” it said.
The Secretary-General called on all sides to take immediate steps to lower tensions and to work towards a peaceful and sustainable solution to the political crisis.
The political situation coupled with economic meltdown has has forced more than 4.6 million Venezuelans to leave the country.
Numbers could reach 6.5 million this year, according to data from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The two agencies launched a $1.35 billion appeal in November to meet the increasing humanitarian needs of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean, and to support the communities hosting them.
Photo caption and credit:
UN Photo/Loey Felipe
The flag of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (centre) flying at United Nations Headquarters in New York. (file)
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
