ALBA countries reject threat of US sanctions on Venezuela

Member nations of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America bloc have come out in support of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro following threats of sanctions from the USA.

The organisation has rejected what they described as “interventionist threats” by American President Donald Trump.

Last week, amid continuing unrest in the South American state, Trump threatened to take “strong and swift economic action” if Maduro moves forward with the National Constituent Assembly plans.

Unwilling concede to the opposition's demand for early presidential elections – Maduro says the opposition is trying to illegally overthrow his elected government and blames the country's problems on an "economic war" being waged against him – the Venezuelan president has chosen to create a constituent assembly.

[caption id="attachment_3137" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a gathering in support of him. ©Miraflores Palace/via REUTERS[/caption]

He argues that a new constitution will "neutralise" the opposition and defeat "coup-plotters" and thereby promote peace in Venezuela.

Opposition leaders have denounced the move as an attempt to maximise his power and cling on to it for longer.

There are also fears that a consistent assembly could weaken the National Assembly, Venezuela's legislative body that is currently controlled by the opposition.

“ALBA countries reject those countries that not only ignore the Venezuelan legal system and the constitutional and legitimate government of President Nicolas Maduro, but also put at risk the status of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace,” ALBA said in a statement.

Path to resolution

The 11-member group is made up of Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Grenada, Nicaragua, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Venezuela.

Protests against the government have raged across Venezuela since April and earlier this month crossed the 100-day mark.

[caption id="attachment_3056" align="aligncenter" width="500"] An opposition supporter during clashes at a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government. ©REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins[/caption]

Near daily marches and clashes between civilians and government security forces in the capital of Caracas have resulted in hundreds of arrests and at 100 deaths.

But despite this, ALBA believes that the use of sanctions “constitutes a clear violation of international law and an unacceptable interventionist application of US law.”

ALBA also argued that sanctions “do not contribute to the resolution of the situation that the country is going through.”