Dominica & 3 other countries voted against a resolution to suspend Venezuela from the OAS grouping

​Dominica was among only four Organization of American States (OAS) countries which voted against a resolution to suspend Venezuela from the 34-member group. The resolution was spearheaded by the United States as it condemned President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election last month. The resolution was passed with 19 member states including Jamaica, Bahamas, Barbados, and Guyana voting for it.
 
Dominica and St Vincent & the Grenadines were among four countries which voted against the measure. Belize, Grenada, Haiti, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago, were among the 11 member states that abstained from voting.
 
The vote opens the door for the OAS General Assembly, at a later date, to hold a vote to suspend Venezuela from the organization. Venezuela quickly rejected the decision saying it would enable the United States to continue its “economic war” against the socialist government. “Those that have supported this are supporting the possibility of a military intervention in Venezuela. Let that be on your conscience,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said.
 
Last year Maduro said he had started the two-year process to pull out of the OAS, and Arreaza said the organization “has never done anything for our people of the Americas.” But US representative to the OAS, Carlos Trujillo said, he was pleased with the vote, adding “I’m glad we are recognizing that democracy matters. We will not recognize illegitimate governments”.
 
In terms of the recent election in Venezuela, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has already said Dominica has no choice but to recognize Maduro as the President of Venezuela, because he was voted in by the majority of those who voted in that South American country.