Versión Español
Español Former political prisoner Antonio Ledezma met with Secretary General of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro this week to discuss the crisis in Venezuela.
The meeting reportedly lasted several hours in Almagro’s office, during which the two spoke about what Ledezma had endured during his time in prison, and the controversial dialogues that are being held between representatives of the opposition and President Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
“I come to speak out for those 30 million citizens who are victims of a hostile regime that has eliminated freedom of expression,” Ledezma said at the end of the meeting. “In Venezuela, having an opinion is a crime.”
Hoy con @alcaldeledezma hicimos un repaso de la crisis de representatividad, económica, social, humanitaria y política en #Venezuela #OEAconVzla https://t.co/FjUJCvwxNn
— Luis Almagro (@Almagro_OEA2015) November 28, 2017
Tweet: Today I met with @alcaldeledezma, and we went over the crisis of representation, the economy, social, humanitarian, and political problems that in #Venezuela #OEAconVzla
Ledezma had spoken previously on the phone with Almagro about his escape from Venezuela. Since then, he has promised to join the fight for democracy in Venezuela even while abroad. Ledezma said he wants to be a voice for those who are silenced in Venezuela.
He also criticized the negotiations taking place between the Democratic Unity Roundtable opposition coalition (MUD) and the regime in the Dominican Republic.
Ledezma, with Almagro at his side, called the dialogues a “farce” designed to buy time for the regime, adding that the opposition had “fallen for Maduro’s games.”
“There are leaders in the opposition that we need right now, but just as a person has to take antibiotics when he has a virus, I think we also need to cleanse the opposition of a virus to avoid the kinds of disputes that we are now seeing” he said.
At the end of the meeting, Ledezma said Venezuela is being “held hostage by a narco-tyrannical criminal empire,” and asked for additional help from the international community.
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Almagro, who has become a prominent international advocate for democracy in Venezuela, also addressed the media anout the topic. He described the dialogue as a “non-inclusive” event because “it did not meet the criteria for many opposition groups.”
He also reiterated that the Organization of American States is dedicated to returning democracy to Venezuela so that it may have transparent, fair elections and no threat of human rights violations.
La @OEA_oficial tiene objetivos claros en Venezuela: Queremos que vuelva la democracia, que haya elecciones claras y con garantías; que se respeten los DDHH, queremos acceso a equidad; queremos seguridad, y que haya condiciones de desarrollo en el país #OEAconVzla pic.twitter.com/1WXPAPErnR
— Luis Almagro (@Almagro_OEA2015) November 28, 2017
