Former US diplomat and writer Eliott Abrams affirmed Friday that the United States repeatedly makes the same mistake of not acting since the first signs that a president elected at the polls is deviating from the path of democracy. He made reference to Venezuela.
The statements were offered at a meeting at the Institute of Cuban Studies at the University of Miami for a small audience of journalists and political analysts.
Abrams, who worked in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr., considered the situation in Venezuela disastrous.
He opined that Hugo Chávez, Nicolás Maduro and other government leaders are to blame for the situation in the country, so he considered that the US should have done more to avoid reaching that point, however, he said he can still act.
In his opinion, it is necessary to raise the level of attention to what is happening in the country and we should also think about working together with Canada and Latin American presidents such as the Argentine Mauricio Macri or the elected president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, to put pressure on Venezuela in the Organization of American States (OAS).
In this regard, he said that after the Chilean José Miguel Insulza, who had a bad administration as secretary general of the OAS, in what refers to Venezuela, the situation is different in that organization under the leadership of the Uruguayan Luis Almagro.
He also said that Venezuela's regime will fall before Cuba's, because it is less organized and has a less strong structure, but that Cuba will be weakened by the loss of its partner.
Abrams and four other former US diplomats, James C. Cason, Everett E. Briggs, Jose S. Sorzano and Otto J. Reich, sent a letter Wednesday to 12 heads of state and government in Europe, Latin America and Canada, as well as to Almagro, to ask them to oppose the repression in Venezuela.
The letter refers to the murder of the former rebel policeman Oscar Pérez and his followers at the hands of the security forces, despite his attempts to surrender, which were witnessed by millions of people through social networks.
"Without the international community, there will be no solution to the situation in Venezuela, and when witnessing this outrage to our democracies, it is up to them to take every step necessary to bring peace, justice and democracy to the Venezuelan people," the letter says.
This letter is addressed to the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, France and the United States, plus the heads of government of Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada.
Friday's meeting revolved around Abrams' latest book, "Realism and Democracy: American Foreign Policy after the Arab Spring" (Realism and Democracy: US Foreign Policy after the Arab Spring), published in September 2017, but There was also talk of Venezuela and Cuba.