The quadrilateral where Trump and Maduro will cross criteria
Only very few hours left for the Summit of the Americas that, months before its opening in Lima, Peru, is already a promising scenario for the clash between Washington and several Latin American nations, which for some years have shown resistance to the designs of the White House. It will also be the right place for US President Donald Trump to make public the pressure crested on Caracas’ government and a call to the international community to strengthen sanctions aimed at destabilizing the constitutional order of that country, and consequently, a transition of powers. Although the United States has received strong support from Europe, several Latin American leaders argue not having an own legal framework to sanction the sister nation.
The intromission of the US government transcends all kinds of scenarios and leaves Latin America as its backyard. According to an undisclosed source, a senior United States official said that "those countries should be helped to draft laws that give them jurisdiction to carry out this type of sanctions if they wish to do so."
Several leaders of the region predict that the White House will coerce, and perhaps it has already done so, several Latin American and Caribbean allies at the Summit to make stronger their measures against Caracas. The State Department and the US president have said Venezuela faces a broad and deep economic and humanitarian crisis, the main issue of the Summit’s agenda unquestionably. However, the guarantor of Human Rights in the world, the United States, has several pending issues within its own country such as the creation of homes, racial discrimination and mistreatment of migrants, issues that Caracas has solved granting more than 2 million homes and a Constitution that protects all Venezuelans, including their indigenous communities. These arguments will also be used by President Nicolás Maduro as a counterattack to the US rhetoric.
Another still unsolved US matter is the issue of the Venezuelan opposition. The opponents of Maduro's dictatorship continue to be disorganized and have shown public signs of not being cohesive, which leaves them ill-protected against Nicolás Maduro who has accumulated several years of diplomacy. Let’s recall that before filling the vacancy left by Chavez he was the Foreign Minister of Venezuela.
The Summit of the Americas is expected to be the first visit of the American Head of State and a protocol speech is planned. In unison, his advisors are offering legislation assistance to several Latino leaders to draft sanctions that penalize Venezuelan officials and industries. The sad thing is that surely these measures will continue to aggravate the humanitarian situation in that nation. Washington’s strategy is to provoke a popular uprising that overthrows Maduro’s government. However, although it seems a valid strategy, the Venezuelan administration has the army on its side, so repression will be expected from one moment to another.
The White House since Chavez’s years seeks to become again the main driver of Venezuelan oil and this Summit will try to show that it is the perfect ally for the countries of the region to maintain democratic order and progress in the area. President Donald Trump will deliver a speech on democracy and governance. Although some members of the American cabinet affirm that Caracas will not be pressured in the meeting, it is unlikely that contradictory "Donny" will keep his criteria for another occasion.