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1 1 (May 17, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govzsq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: I Congressional Research Service ~~Info rming te Iceislative debate s n~ce 1914 S May 17, 2019 Venezuela: International Efforts to Resolve the Political Crisis Background The international community remains divided over how to respond to the political crisis in Venezuela. The United States and 54 other countries have formally recognized the interim government of Juan Guaid6, who Venezuela's democratically elected National Assembly named president. These countries have undertaken a variety of initiatives to place pressure on authoritarian leader NicolAs Maduro, in power since 2013, and facilitate a political transition. Other countries, such as China, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Russia, have provided diplomatic, financial, and military support to Maduro, and have sought to block anti-Maduro actions within international organizations. A third group of countries, including Mexico, Norway, Uruguay and some Caribbean nations, has remained neutral in the crisis. These international dynamics appear to have contributed to a political stalemate in Venezuela, even as conditions within the country have continued to deteriorate. On April 30, a Guaid6-led, U.S.-backed uprising failed to garner enough high-level military support to compel Maduro to leave office. While some observers maintain that Maduro is weak politically, others fear a prolonged, potentially violent standoff between the respective supporters of Maduro and Guaid6. Some observers hope that international action will coalesce behind talks leading to the convening of free and fair elections. Both sides have sent envoys to Norway for exploratory talks on how to resolve the crisis, but actions taken against the opposition by Maduro could hinder progress in reaching a political solution. United Nations (U.N.) The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) has discussed the political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, but divisions within its members have stalled action. Russia, and to a lesser extent, China, support Maduro. The United States, and most countries in Europe and the Western Hemisphere, support Guiad6. Despite that polarization, U.N. agencies are increasing humanitarian relief within Venezuela after securing approval in April from Maduro and Guaid6. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are coordinating efforts to serve the roughly 3.7 million Venezuelans who had left the country as of March 2019 and the communities hosting them. The U.N. Human Rights Council is investigating allegations of crimes against humanity committed by security forces and armed militias loyal to Maduro. Organization of American States (OAS) The OAS, a regional multilateral organization that includes all 35 independent countries of the Western Hemisphere (Cuba currently does not participate), has focused attention on Venezuela's political crisis. Since 2016, OAS Secretary- General Luis Almagro has issued a series of reports on the deteriorating situation in Venezuela, convened special sessions of the Permanent Council to discuss regional responses to the crisis, and spoken out against Maduro. Member states remain divided on how to respond to the crisis, with countries in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) particularly reluctant to intervene in Venezuela's internal affairs. Many of those countries had close ties with Venezuela under Maduro's predecessor, the late president Hugo ChAvez, and, until recently, received significant amounts of subsidized oil from Venezuela. In 2017, Maduro denounced the OAS for meddling in his country's domestic affairs and began a two-year process to withdraw from the organization. The OAS requires 18 votes to pass a resolution of the Permanent Council. In June 2018, 19 of 34 member states passed a resolution stating that the May 2018 presidential election in Venezuela lacked legitimacy and authorizing countries to take measures, including sanctions, necessary to hasten a return to democracy. In January 2019, the same 19 states approved a resolution that refused to recognize the legitimacy of Maduro's second term; called for new presidential elections; and urged all member states to adopt diplomatic, political, economic, and financial measures to facilitate the prompt restoration of the democratic order in Venezuela. After Maduro withdrew his OAS Ambassador, the Permanent Council welcomed the Venezuelan National Assembly's permanent representative to the OAS on April 9, 2019. Some observers have praised Secretary-General Almagro's activism on Venezuela, which has included calling for international intervention in the country. Others have asserted that he has sided too closely with the opposition, and is unlikely to help broker a diplomatic solution to resolve the current crisis. Lima Group In mid-2017, efforts to reach a consensus on how to respond to the crisis in Venezuela at the OAS appeared to be stalling. On August 8, 2017, 12 Western Hemisphere countries signed the Lima Accord, a document rejecting what it described as the rupture of democracy and systemic human rights violations in Venezuela. The signatory countries included Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Panama, Paraguay, and Peru. In 2018, Guyana and St. Lucia joined the Lima Group, which did not recognize Maduro's May 2018 reelection. On January 4, 2019, 13 members of the Lima Group (excluding Mexico) signed a declaration urging President Maduro not to assume power on January 10, 2019. The countries resolved to reassess their level of diplomatic engagement with Venezuela, implement travel bans or sanctions on Maduro officials (as Canada and Panama have), suspend military cooperation with Venezuela, and urge others in the international community to take similar actions. Under leftist President Andr6s Manuel L6pez htops:!crsreports~cong --ssc

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