32 Latin American former presidents from the IDEA group denounced a dictatorship in Venezuela

On Wednesday, a group of 32 former presidents, including Uruguayans Luis Alberto Lacalle and Julio María Sanguinetti, issued a statement in which they attacked the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico for what they consider support for the “purpose of the dictator” Nicolás Maduro to “stay in power” in Venezuela.

the statement, which was published by the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA)described the support of these governments as “scandalous” and a “true robbery of inter-American democratic rights.”

The former presidents expressed their concern about the possibility that Maduro might promote new elections in Venezuela. According to them, This initiative would seek to “annul the popular will already expressed unequivocally” at the polls on July 28.in reference to an electoral process that, according to reports from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Carter Center, certifies the “unquestionable defeat of the Maduro dictatorship.”

In their statement, the former presidents refer to the report of a UN panel of experts that recognizes the authenticity of the minutes presented by the Venezuelan opposition.

The report notes that the minutes “exhibit all the security devices of the original protocols of the election results,” contrasting with the announcement by the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela, which proclaimed Maduro the winner without having disclosed tabulated results to the candidates. IDEA stresses that this fact “is unprecedented in contemporary democratic elections.”

The former heads of state also highlighted that both the UN and the OAS have established that the administration of justice in Venezuela “totally lacks independence and impartiality” and accused it of being complicit in the crimes against humanity currently being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC). In this regard, IDEA denounced that after the last presidential elections, a significant number of prisoners and missing persons have been recorded, as well as numerous cases of murder and torture.

According to the statement, “the Venezuelan dictatorship” is seeking to “dilute the legal responsibility of those who falsified the election results.” through the intervention of key institutions such as the Electoral Power, the Supreme Court of Justice, the top leadership of the Armed Forces and the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

This situation, according to the former presidents, could further undermine the already fragile democracy in Venezuela.

IDEA also warned that if the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico tolerate the actions of the Maduro regime, they will be compromising respect for universal democratic behavior and affecting the perception of their own nations. “If the aforementioned governments tolerate the plans of the Venezuelan dictator and his allied public powers, they will compromise respect for universal democratic behavior and do so before their own nations,” the former presidents stated.

Maduro’s third consecutive term, proclaimed by the National Electoral Council (CNE), has been rejected and described as a “fraud” by the majority opposition in Venezuela and has been questioned by several foreign governments and international monitoring organizations.

The controversy surrounding the elections in Venezuela has generated diplomatic tensions and called into question the legitimacy of Maduro’s government in the international arena.

Former presidents who signed the declaration include:

The full statement of the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA)

The IDEA Group rejects the fact that the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico tolerate the Venezuelan dictatorship and even intend to sponsor new elections. The former heads of state and government participating in the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA Group) raise their voices to emphatically point out that it is scandalous for the community of democratic nations of the Americas to see the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico joining the dictator Nicolás Maduro Moros’s goal of staying in power and even promoting new elections in Venezuela to do so.

Such an action, under a regime that violated the Barbados Accords, has banned electoral observation and imprisoned polling station witnesses. This situation would become a true robbery of inter-American democratic rights, since it would nullify the popular will already unequivocally expressed at the polls on July 28 and would ignore the unquestionable defeat of the Maduro Moros dictatorship, as corroborated by the Technical Reports of the Organization of American States and the Carter Center.

The UN Panel of Experts, while acknowledging that the opposition’s minutes “exhibit all the security devices of the original results protocols,” also states that “the announcement of the result of an election – such as that made by the National Electoral Council when announcing the reelection of Maduro Moros – without the publication of its details or the disclosure of tabulated results to the candidates is unprecedented in contemporary democratic elections.”

The UN and the OAS have established that the administration of justice in Venezuela totally lacks independence and impartiality and is a necessary accomplice in the crimes against humanity that are now before the International Criminal Court. The United Nations and its High Commissioner for Human Rights have reported that there are already thousands of prisoners and missing persons, with a significant number of murders, torture and segregation for political reasons following the presidential elections of July 28.

The Venezuelan dictatorship also intends to dilute the legal responsibility of those who falsified the election results through the interventions of the Electoral Power, the Supreme Court of Justice, the protocol leadership of the Armed Forces and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. If the aforementioned governments tolerate the plans of the Venezuelan dictator and his allied public powers, they compromise respect for universal democratic behavior and do so before their own nations.