They activate the Rio Treaty at the OAS and do not exclude the use of force against Venezuela

With the vote of Argentina and 11 other countries meeting at the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, the controversial Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, better known as the TIAR Collective Defense Pact , was activated to be applied in Venezuela. Although the specific measures that will be taken against the government of Nicolás Maduro have not yet been defined, the adherents have left the use of force in rejecting an amendment submitted by Costa Rica to eliminate it from the range of options.

The resolution calls for a meeting of the TIAR consultation body, which establishes Article 12 of the treaty, with the participation of the foreign ministers of the member countries, in order to make the corresponding decision. The conclave will take place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in the week of September 23, on the occasion of the visit of Minister Jorge Faurie and President Mauricio Macri in New York. during a trip of a few days to comply with the protocol of the agency and enjoy their stay for bilateral meetings, possibly with US President Donald Trump and Chinese Xi Jinping.

In addition to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, the United States, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic have accompanied the resolution. presented by the governments of Bogotá, Washington, Brasilia and that of the President of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, recognized as president in charge of more than fifty governments. In fact, the mission of the opponents of Nicolás Maduro was vote number twelve. In contrast, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Uruguay abstained and the Bahamas were absent in the vote.

The adherents have left the use of force by rejecting an amendment submitted by Costa Rica to remove it from the range of options

As expected, the resolution required an absolute majority of the members of the treaty, which represented ten votes, two less than those badembled. However, for the adoption of the shares, they must still add an additional vote, since the required threshold is two-thirds of its members, ie thirteen votes. Some of them, such as Mexico, have strongly criticized this decision, which they described as "unacceptable" and "dangerous precedent": "We believe that it is not There is no armed conflict on the continent that deserves the application of the TIAR. We believe that the application of this mechanism is useless if no armed intervention is sought in the region ", said the government ambbadador to Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The representatives of Costa Rica also indicated that "this is not a decision that can be invoked lightly". In the morning, they tried to introduce an amendment to the project to categorically reject the use of force among the options offered by the TIAR. Although they had the support of Chile and Peru, their request was rejected by nine votes to four, four abstentions and one absentee.

Born in 1947, a prelude to the cold war, the Treaty of Rio, or TIAR, is a mutual defense pact in which 23 countries at the inter-American level have joined, although some have abandoned it after denouncing it. Venezuela, for example, withdrew in 2012 under the government of Hugo Chávez, but the National Assembly, under the command of Guaidó, voted for the reinstatement request that was finalized last August.

For the adoption of the shares, they must still add an additional vote, since the required threshold is two-thirds of its members, ie thirteen votes.

According to your articles, an armed attack by a state against an American country will be considered as an attack against all the countries of the continentand demands a collective response in the exercise of the legitimate right of self-defense of the United Nations. Article 6, mentioned in the letter submitted by eleven countries – including Argentina – in order to request the session of today, It also refers to "any situation likely to compromise the peace of America" ​​beyond the violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty or political independence "of the country.

The covenant includes a series of intermediate options between diplomatic negotiations and the use of force, based on the right of self-defense established by the United Nations Charter. Tools such as sanctions, the severing of diplomatic relations and various types of blockade are part of this package that adherent governments may appeal to claim to increase the pressure on the Maduro government without reaching an armed hypothesis. .

MB / MC