The U.S. wants Venezuela booted from the Organization of American States (OAS), according to a McClatchy report published Sunday, and Vice President Mike Pence will call on partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to vote it out at or at least suspend it during a reception in Washington this week.
The report comes days after the OAS released a report compiled by a panel of experts accusing the Venezuelan government under President Nicolas Maduro of committing crimes against humanity, including imprisonment and arbitrary detention, torture, rape, enforced disappearances and political persecution.
"Dictatorships thrive on the indulgence of regional divisions," a White House official told McClatchy. "The Maduro regime will only further consolidate autocratic power at the cost of democracy and freedom if OAS members lack the courage to act."
Maduro won re-election in May in a race that the U.S. called a sham, and the Trump administration placed new sanctions on Venezuela in the following days to block Maduro from selling off government debt to enrich himself.
"The illegitimate result of this fake process is a further blow to the proud democratic tradition of Venezuela," Pence said in a statement at the time, adding, "The United States will not sit idly by as Venezuela crumbles and the misery of their brave people continues."
Venezuela said last year it would withdraw from the OAS, but it takes two years for a nation to quit the organization, per McClatchy.
The 48th annual OAS General Assembly takes place Monday and Tuesday in Washington, and Venezuela is expected to be a central topic.
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