Democratic forces have already spoken out against the attempts of countries party to the infamous Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR) to trigger this instrument against Bolivarian Venezuela. On Wednesday (11) the proposal was presented by Colombia and supported by the representation of Brazil and other countries governed by forces subservient to the US, within the Organization of American States (OAS). The issue shall be discussed by the foreign ministers for the adoption of steps and peace forces are mobilizing to halt what are evident plans for an intervention in Venezuela.

By Socorro Gomes*

The World Peace Council and each of its members in dozens of countries, as well as countless entities and personalities from around the world, have expressed unequivocal opposition to any proposed direct interference or military intervention, which would constitute a real crime of aggression against the Venezuelan nation.

For a long time the main promoter of an intervention has been the government of the largest imperialist power and aggressor on the planet, the United States of America, but we strongly denounce the participation of the governments of other countries, including Venezuela's immediate neighbors, such as those of Brazil and Colombia, in these offensive plans.

If implemented, such plans would mean an unacceptable escalation against the Venezuelan people, who for years have bravely resisted the attempts to overthrow their legitimately elected, progressive, patriotic and popular government, led by Presidents Hugo Chavez then Nicolás Maduro. An aggression against Venezuela would enhance destabilization and disunity in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Such a scenario would cause unprecedented suffering to the peoples in a region currently troubled by crises and always a victim of the interference of US imperialism, which aims to exert geostrategic control of the region's resources and routes. This aim explains the history of the many coups promoted from the North over the decades, in alliance with conservative, undemocratic and reactionary local elites.

TIAR is anachronistic and was established in 1947, in the context of the Cold War, to, like the OAS, where its application is debated, serve the empire. An instrument of interference and intervention promoted under the guise of “hemispheric security”, it established the alliance of the region's countries against the “communist advance”. But as several analysts note, its purpose of serving only the US is evident: when Argentina needed such protection against external aggression during the Malvinas War in the 1980s, the US prevented the TIAR's application to bar British aggression.

As then, today the automatic alignment with the United States' demands goes against the progress seen until recently in the construction of regional integration based on the sovereignty of nations, multilateralism and friendship among peoples, for shared progress. Repeated threats against Venezuela have served the US strategy of undermining these efforts independent of their agenda.

In addition to TIAR's interventionist purposes, other forms of intervention and interference in the affairs of Latin American and Caribbean nations are accumulating in the pile of violations of international law and conventions essential to building a system of international relations of respect, justice and peace among the nations. A more recent example is the escalation of offensive measures promoted by the United States and accepted by the region's slavish governments to try to stifle the Venezuelan people and thus precipitate the fall of a revolutionary government, measures that we also denounce.

For this reason, entities, governments and personalities from around the world unite in strengthening our opposition to this threat against Venezuela and its people and in denouncing the very serious consequences that an intervention would bring to the entire region, deepening the suffering of the Venezuelan people, already victimized by sanctions and blockade, destabilizing the subcontinent and antagonizing brotherly peoples.

Stronger opposition from the peace and democratic forces around the world is urgently needed throughout the process of discussing measures to be taken under TIAR in the coming weeks within the OAS.

We must also reinforce our unwavering support and commitment to the defense of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, as proclaimed in 2014 by the Havana Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and our unwavering solidarity with the Venezuelan people in their resistance and struggle for sovereignty and peace.

End imperialist interference and offensive threats against Venezuela! For justice, sovereignty and peace for the Venezuelan people, now!

*Socorro Gomes is the President of the World Peace Council