Johnson Smith returns from OAS meeting on Venezuela today
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, is expected home today, from Wednesday’s meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Washington DC.
Thirty-four of the 35 member states of the OAS, including all 14 voting CARICOM member states, were represented at the meeting, which focused on the growing political violence in Venezuela.The OAS did not issue a press release after yesterday’s meeting on the outcome of the deliberations, up to press time last night. But, the minister is expected to make a statement to the Senate on Friday, when it meets again.Senator Johnson Smith had informed the Senate at its last meeting on May 26 that she would be attending the consultative meeting.She said that OAS member states would consider options available “to assist in the resolution of Venezuela’s grave challenges and the growing humanitarian crisis that attends those challenges”.Despite claims by the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, of “a calculated strategy in place by a group of nations to achieve regime change in Venezuela by using the OAS as a weapon of destruction”, St Vincent and the Grenadines was among the 14 voting members CARICOM attending the meeting.A total 34 of the 35 members of the OAS were present, including Venezuela, which has stated an intention to withdraw from the organisation. Cuba was the only member absent.Balford Henry