WASHINGTON _ The head of the Organization of American States has declared the continued imprisonment of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez the end of democracy in Venezuela.
In an OAS eight-page open letter to Lopez, a former mayor of Caracas, Secretary-General Luis Almagro said Lopez was the victim of a lying and horrific political system.
Luis Almagro, General Secretary of the Organization of American States (OAS) listens during a session of the OAS June 23 in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin AP
"Clearly in Venezuela today there is no fundamental freedom and no civil or political rights," Almagro wrote in the letter, which was posted to the OAS website Monday.
Almagro's letter follows a Venezuelan appeals court decision that upheld the nearly 14-year prison sentence handed to Lopez for inciting violence during anti-government protests in 2014.
In Venezuela, there is no democracy or rule of law. Luis Almagro, OAS secretary-general
It was an extraordinarily passionate denunciation of the Venezuelan government by the head of the United Nations-like organization whose members include nearly all the nations of the Western Hemisphere and the latest in what has been an unusually public campaign by the former Uruguayan diplomat against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
No other Latin American leader, let alone world leader, has been as outspoken in denouncing what Almagro called the Venezuelan government's human rights violations and economic malfeasance.
Venezuela sits on the world's largest oil reserves, yet the country's economy is crumbling. Food and medicine shortages are rampant, and basic services are in turmoil. Even the oil industry is in a precarious position, with a recent study claiming it's beset by mismanagement and under-investment.
Maduro has responded to Almagro's attacks by calling him a "piece of trash" and accusing him of meddling in Venezuelan affairs. Venezuela's top diplomat in the United States has charged that Almagro has overstepped his authority by acting unilaterally without of OAS members.
Rather than silencing peaceful democratic dissent, now is the time for Venezuela's leaders to listen to diverse voices. Elizabeth Trudeau, U.S. State Department
Almagro's open letter is reminiscent of his stark 132-page report in which he described the worsening crisis in Venezuela, demanded "immediate change" and pushed for a recall vote against Maduro.
But the document in more emotional, addressing Lopez with the familiar Spanish form reserved in Spanish for friends and family, though he acknowledges never having met Lopez. He confesses that at first he was unsure whether Lopez qualified as a political prisoner, before he realized the political horrors that Lopez had fallen victim to.
Almagro then describes a rotting government he says is fueled by corruption. He cites the controversial arrests of Maduro's two nephews on federal U.S. drug charges and recordings of them stating they were at war with the United States.
To show that he was not alone in his concerns, he noted that regional governments blocked Venezuela from taking over its rotation as president of Mercosur, the South American trading bloc, and criticism from the United Nations and European Parliament over human rights concerns.
"In Venezuela there is no democracy or rule of law," Almagro wrote.
The United States has stood behind Almagro, a former Uruguayan foreign minister. Last week, the State Department blasted the Venezuelan government for failing to guarantee the rights of Lopez and other political prisoners.
"Rather than silencing peaceful democratic dissent, now is the time for Venezuela's leaders to listen to diverse voices and work together to find solutions to the political, social, and economic challenges facing the Venezuelan people," said Elizabeth Trudeau, a State Department spokeswoman.
