Jamaican Government Monitoring Developments In Venezuela

KINGSTON, Jamaica, January 24, 2019 (CMC) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade says the government is closely monitoring the latest developments in Venezuela, where opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, yesterday, declared himself interim president, triggering a fresh round of bloodshed in the troubled country.

“The situation is dynamic and we are cognisant of the reactions from various other governments across the hemisphere,” the Ministry said in a statement, late yesterday.

“We wish to make clear, that our primary concern remains for the well-being of the people of Venezuela, the maintenance of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law.”

“We reiterate our wish for a return to dialogue, in the hope for a peaceful and amicable resolution to the situation in Venezuela. Jamaica remains ready, as we have previously stated, to be part of any process, geared at a solution at the earliest,” added the statement.

Earlier this month, Jamaica voted with 18 other members of the Permanent Council of the Organisation of American States (OAS) to not recognise the legitimacy of Nicolas Maduro’s second term, as president of Venezuela.

Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith says this was not a break with Jamaica’s foreign policy.

“It was, in fact, not. We always vote on the side of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, which is what we did at the OAS,” she said then.