LOS ANGELES (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th June, 2022) Caracas should start talks about the very complex immigration crisis with other states in Latin America, especially considering the large number of refugees flowing out of Venezuela, Panamerican and Caribbean Union for Human Rights (PACUHR) Special Projects Director, Oscar Lopez Colina, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Ninth Summit of Americas.
As the Summit of Americas kicked off in Los Angeles on Monday, a 10,000-strong US-bound migrant caravan left the town of Tapachula on the Mexico-Guatemala border, FOX news reported. Most of the migrants in the caravan, the report added, are from Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua - the very three countries the US did not invite to the summit.
"The situation with immigration is very complicated. The political situation in (the) Americas is very difficult now," the PACUHR representative said. "It's necessary that they (Caracas) open the conversation with the other countries... for a solution to immigration."
He also pointed out that the majority of the refugees in the region come from Venezuela.
When asked about the US decision to exclude Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua from the summit, the PACUHR special projects director said it is "very difficult" to speak with these governments because they do not think in terms of liberty and human rights.
The forum's only participants, he added, are democratic countries and civil organizations that approve of liberty, democracy, and inclusion. The PACUHR representative said the governments of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua are only interested in power, not their citizens.
PACUHR, he added, is expected to address at the summit human rights and inclusion issues. Lopez Colina also said they plan to file complaints about alleged human rights violations with an international court on behalf of refugees. The NGO will help refugees in different countries in the region prepare their cases, he added.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced on Monday that he will not participate in the Summit of the Americas hosted in Los Angeles from June 6-10 because the US did not invite Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Meanwhile, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, at a press conference alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said the US decision was a "mistake" that will likely fail to deliver results.
US State Department Spokesperson Ned price said the Biden administration "understands" the Mexican president's position and looks forward to discussions with Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard who will be at the event.
