Credit:  OAS /  Luis Almagro ,  Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington D.C.

By Gary Raynaldo      DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

The controversial Luis Almagro was sworn in as Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Wednesday.  Almagro was re-elected as Secretary General of the OAS  in March to serve  for the 2020-2025 period. The Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington, DC (COHA) expressed its “deep concern” over the re-election of Almagro.  Many critics maintain that the OAS became a tool of U.S. foreign influence, particularly with regard to Venezuela during  the past year, under the leadership of  Almagro,  a former Uruguayan foreign minister,  who became Secretary General of the Organization in 2015.

“Luis Almagro’s re-election as Secretary General of the OAS reminds us of the darkest days of the hemisphere when the organization closely mirrored the divisive foreign policy of the US during the Cold War. COHA calls upon all members of the Permanent Council to carefully examine the many improprieties carried out by Almagro.”

-COHA Editorial  Board statement 

Almagro  Sworn In as OAS SG  for Second Term During Virtual Meeting in Washington D.C.

Credit:  Credit: OAS /  Luis Almagro ,  Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington D.C.

Almagro, assumed his second term as head of the hemispheric institution Wednesday, during a virtual meeting of the Permanent Council.  Secretary General Almagro announced that during his first administration he managed to adapt the OAS to the challenges of the 21st century, transforming it “once again into the main forum where issues in the region are debated. We continue to revolutionize actions, mechanisms and practices in multilateralism,” he said.

“During this second term, we must normalize democracy as the only ideal political system for the Americas without discussion and without exceptions; and especially in facing COVID-19 we must address the structural challenges: fighting against poverty and inequality and achieving development.”

-OAS Secretary General Almagro

OAS Region Polarized Under Leadership of  Almagro With His Obsession With Venezuela in backing  Opposition Leader Juan Guaido as “Interium President”

The OAS is a regional forum of 34 states that acts similar to the United Nations of the Americas. It is supposed to be politically neutral. But in recent years, there has been creeping U.S. influence on it, as the U.S. provides 60 percent of the OAS  annual budget as of 2018.  The OAS Secretary General is supposed to be an impartial moderator of political issues. 

The OAS Is Not Playing a Constructive Role in the Venezuela Crisis:  COAH

“Almagro has never said anything against the United States’ illegal sanctions on Venezuela and Cuba and has never defended the majority of United Nations member states that vote repeatedly to end the U.S. blockade on Cuba. And under his leadership the OAS has never played a constructive role in the various efforts at dialogue between the Venezuelan government and its opposition over recent years, despite the fact that the Vatican and various governments from Europe and the Americas have done so. In a sharp departure from the hemisphere’s institutional framework, he even called for military intervention in Venezuela.”  – COAH

OAS  Silent  on Alleged U.S. Involvement in Coup Attempt in Venezuela  by American Mercenaries 

Source: venezuelanalysis.com /  Two former US soldiers were captured in a failed paramilitary incursion on Monday May 4, 2020  (VTV)

The OAS has yet take a position on this month’s coup attempt in Venezuela involving American mercenaries who were captured.  Venezuela’s state TV showed a video of a US citizen apparently confessing to plotting to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro and bring him to the US.  Maduro has often accused US President Donald Trump of trying to invade the country and overthrow him.