Skerrit calls for dismissal of OAS secretary general

go through TDN News Agency Staff

May 11, 2017 at 4:55 AM

Luis Almago, Secretary General of the Organization of American States.

Roseau, Dominica (TDN)

Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has called for the sacking of Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro.

“The OAS has lost its way and I think the secretary-general should be fired,” Skerrit said in a recent interview with Venezuelan television network Telesur. The Dominican prime minister appeared to support Venezuela, whose president announced that his country would withdraw from the organization in response to the organization’s criticism of the Venezuelan government’s handling of the country’s current political crisis. Venezuela has been a member of the Washington-based organization for more than 65 years but is now preparing to withdraw, with the country’s Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez recently announcing that Venezuela will initiate a two-year withdrawal process. Venezuelan protesters have been in clashes with security forces on an almost daily basis, leaving dozens dead. Protesters are demanding that the country’s leader Nicolás Maduro step down and new elections be held. The once prosperous country is now described as one of the poorest in the region, as severe food shortages and rising poverty have become the norm. While calling for the resignation of the OAS secretary-general, Skerrit also expressed support for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), saying that “CELAC was created to break away from the influence of the OAS.” The CELAC is a regional organization of 33 Caribbean and Latin American countries that was established in 2011 at the request of Venezuela to unite, strengthen and promote the interests of these countries. Members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States include Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Skerrit is the first, and so far only, Caribbean leader to publicly support Venezuela and its stance against the OAS.