Latest news with #OrganisationofAmericanStates
TimesLIVE
23-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Haiti calls for urgent regional gang-fighting support as US shies off funding
Top Haitian ministers called for urgent security support from neighbours at a meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) on Thursday, while the US signalled it would not continue funding aimed at holding back the nation's armed gangs. Powerful gangs, armed with guns the UN believes are trafficked largely from the US and across the land border with the Dominican Republic, have taken control of most of the capital and expanded to the central plateau and agricultural heartlands, displacing more than a million people. 'While we remain determined to assist the Haitian people achieve the peace, security and prosperity they deserve, the US cannot continue shouldering such a significant financial burden,' US Caribbean affairs deputy assistant secretary Barbara Feinstein said at the meeting. The US has cut much overseas aid and frozen some funding it earlier pledged to support a UN-backed mission in Haiti, and earlier this week secretary of state Marco Rubio suggested the OAS should play a greater role in supporting Haiti's security, such as mobilising a force. 'The OAS is uniquely positioned not only as a forum for diplomacy but as a vehicle for co-ordinated, concrete action,' Feinstein added. A handful of countries have pledged troops to the mission, but only a fraction of these have deployed. The Kenyan-led force remains under-resourced and has had little success in helping police hold off gangs' advances in and beyond the capital. OAS special adviser Jared Genser recommended that unless the mission is proven capable of providing security for Haitians, the UN Security Council should vote to convert it to a formal peacekeeping mission — a measure repeatedly requested by Haitian leaders but opposed by veto members China and Russia. Haitian defence minister Jean-Michel Moise said the situation was being fuelled by gangs profiting off cocaine trafficking from Colombia to buyer nations and arms trafficking from the US by sea and across the Dominican border. 'This criminal economy fuels a local war machine. Haiti is on the brink of being fully controlled by criminal gangs and we cannot allow that to happen. We desperately need the help of the international community,' he said. Haiti counts about 12,000 police and 1,000 military officers for a population of nearly 12-million, officials said. Moise also called for restrictions — including some based on implications in human rights abuses — on selling arms to Haiti's government to be eased, citing gangs' easy access to militarised weapons.
AsiaOne
23-05-2025
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Haiti calls for urgent regional gang-fighting support as US shies off funding , World News
Top Haitian ministers called for urgent security support from neighbours at a meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) on Thursday (May 22), while the US signalled it would not continue current funding aimed at holding back the nation's armed gangs. Powerful gangs, armed with guns the UN believes are trafficked largely from the United States and across the land border with the Dominican Republic, have taken control of most of the capital and expanded to the central plateau and agricultural heartlands, displacing over one million people. "While we remain determined to assist the Haitian people achieve the peace, security and prosperity they deserve, the United States cannot continue shouldering such a significant financial burden," US Caribbean Affairs deputy assistant secretary Barbara Feinstein said at the meeting. The US has cut much overseas aid and frozen some funding it earlier pledged to support a UN-backed mission in Haiti, and earlier this week Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that OAS should play a greater role in supporting Haiti's security, such as mobilising a force. "The OAS is uniquely positioned not only as a forum for diplomacy, but as a vehicle for coordinated, concrete action," Feinstein added. A handful of countries have pledged troops to the mission, but only a fraction of these have deployed. The Kenyan-led force remains under-resourced and has had little success in helping police hold off gangs' advances in and beyond the capital. OAS special advisor Jared Genser recommended that unless the mission is proven capable of providing security for Haitians, the UN Security Council should vote to convert it to a formal peacekeeping mission — a measure repeatedly requested by Haitian leaders but opposed by veto members China and Russia. Haitian Defence Minister Jean-Michel Moise said the situation was being fuelled by gangs profiting off cocaine trafficking from Colombia to buyer nations and arms trafficking from the United States by sea and across the Dominican border. "This criminal economy fuels a local war machine," he said. "Haiti is on the brink of being fully controlled by criminal gangs and we cannot allow that to happen. We desperately need the help of the international community." Haiti counts about 12,000 police and 1,000 military officers for a population of nearly 12 million, officials said. Moise also called for restrictions — including some based on implications in human rights abuses — on selling arms to Haiti's government to be eased, citing gangs' easy access to militarised weapons. [[nid:716350]]
The Hindu
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Venezuela bans arrival of flights from Colombia following arrests in alleged anti-government plot
Venezuela on Monday (May 19, 2025) banned the arrival of flights from neighbouring Colombia after authorities detained more than 30 people who were allegedly plotting activities to destabilise the country ahead of Sunday's (May 25, 2025) election. The arrests were announced just as an independent panel of experts backed by the Organisation of American States released a report documenting serious human rights abuses in Venezuela as the government tightened its grip on dissent after the July 28 presidential election. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello on state television said the flight ban was 'immediate' and would last beyond Sunday (May 25 2025), when voters across the country are expected to elect Governors and National Assembly members. But Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said Venezuela's Government had notified it that flights would resume the day after the election. Mr. Cabello said the anti-government plans involved placing explosives at embassies and other facilities in Venezuela. He said authorities had detained 21 Venezuelans and 17 foreigners, some of whom hold Colombian, Mexican and Ukrainian citizenship. Mr. Cabello, without offering any evidence, said the group included experts in explosive devices, human smugglers and mercenaries, and was working with members of Venezuela's political opposition. 'The scenario they want to present is that there are no conditions in Venezuela for holding an election,' Mr. Cabello said, referring to the opposition. Colombia's Foreign Ministry in a statement said it had not received any information from Venezuela's government regarding the detention of Colombian citizens. President Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first leftist president, resumed his country's diplomatic relations with Venezuela after taking office in 2022 and becoming an ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Mr. Maduro, during a televised meeting with leaders of the military and state security forces, alleged that members of an Albanian crime organisation involved in drug trafficking in Ecuador were also linked to the alleged plot and added that an investigation into the group's plans is ongoing. The arrests come nearly two weeks after members of the opposition left the country after having lived at a diplomatic compound in Venezuela's capital, Caracas, for more than a year to avoid arrest. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the faction of the opposition led by María Corina Machado described the departure as an international rescue operation, but Mr. Cabello said they left Venezuela through a negotiation with Maduro Government. Ms. Machado has called on Venezuelans to boycott the election scheduled for Sunday (May 25, 2025), almost 10 months since the presidential contest that electoral authorities claimed Mr. Maduro won despite credible evidence to the contrary. Several countries do not recognise Mr. Maduro's victory and have broken diplomatic relations with his government, disrupting commercial air travel. Five of the six people who sheltered at the diplomatic compound were part of Ms. Machado's staff. Dozens of people affiliated with her movement, including its lawyer, as well as opposition leaders, activists and others detained before and after the presidential election remain behind bars. The panel of experts backed by the Organization of American States on Monday (May 19, 2025) reported that the post-election period has seen 'the most severe and sophisticated phase of political repression in Venezuela's modern history'. This included the execution of unarmed protesters, enforced disappearances and an increase in arbitrary detentions. The panel also reported that the state expanded its repression targets beyond political opponents and human rights defenders by going after poll workers, election witnesses, relatives of Opposition members, minors and others.
The Guardian
01-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Guyana triggers military response after Venezuelan vessel enters its waters
Guyana's president has triggered a military response and diplomatic action after a Venezuelan coastguard patrol entered its waters and approached an off-shore oil facility, breaching international maritime agreements. President Irfan Ali issued a strongly worded statement after the Venezuelan vessel transmitted a radio message claiming that it was operating in 'disputed international waters'. Dismissing the claims, Ali said: 'Let me be unequivocal. Maritime boundaries are recognised under international law, and this is a matter of grave concern … I assure you that my government is not acting precipitously; we are addressing this situation with seriousness and responsibility.' He added that he had summoned the Venezuelan ambassador to his office to register his strong protest and instructed Guyana's embassy in Caracas to lodge a formal protest with the Venezuelan government. But he also made it clear he had triggered a military response, which included the deployment of air assets and the country's coastguard He said: 'Guyana remains committed to peace and the rule of law. We will continue to pursue diplomatic solutions, but we will not tolerate threats to our territorial integrity.' The US and the Organisation of American States (OAS) have supported Guyana, condemning Venezuela's actions. Describing the incident as a threat to ExxonMobil's oil operations in Guyana's internationally recognised maritime territory, the OAS statement said: 'Such acts of intimidation constitute a clear violation of international law, undermine regional stability, and threaten the principles of peaceful coexistence between nations. The OAS reiterates its steadfast support for Guyana's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Venezuelan regime must immediately cease all aggressive manoeuvres that could escalate tensions in the region.' The US Department of State Bureau of Western Hemisphere also reaffirmed its support for Guyana's territorial integrity, adding that 'further provocation will result in consequences for the Maduro regime'. The incident is the latest development in a tense, longstanding feud between the two neighbouring South American countries over land and maritime borders. In February, six soldiers in Guyana were injured while on a resupply mission along the Cuyuni River after suspected Venezuelan gang members opened fire on them. Venezuela claims that an 1890s boundaries commission cheated it out of the mineral-rich Essequibo region, which represents two-thirds of Guyana's territory and lies near big offshore oil deposits. The area, which was administered by Britain for more than a century, has been under Guyanese control since 1966, when the nation gained its independence from the UK. Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan president, has threatened to annex the region by force. In late 2023, the leaders of both countries attended an emergency summit where they promised not to use threats or force against each other. However, they did not reach a deal on the dispute over the Essequibo region.
