{"id":20143,"date":"2018-09-20T13:31:13","date_gmt":"2018-09-20T17:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=20143"},"modified":"2018-09-20T13:31:16","modified_gmt":"2018-09-20T17:31:16","slug":"commentary-no-vigilante-action-in-the-americas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/commentary-no-vigilante-action-in-the-americas\/","title":{"rendered":"COMMENTARY: No vigilante action in the Americas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"antig-169510531\" class=\"antig-ecab antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/discoverflow.co\/web\/antigua\" aria-label=\"ANU CVP Digital Broadband 1200x400_1\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:100\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:342\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:256\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1201\" height=\"401\"   \/><\/a><\/div><div id=\"antig-511635366\" class=\"antig-before-content antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/medicalbenefitsscheme\" aria-label=\"PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1200\/h:400\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1200\/h:400\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:100\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:341\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:256\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/PHOTO-2026-04-07-10-45-56.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1200\" height=\"400\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>By Sir Ronald Sanders<\/p><div id=\"antig-851789168\" class=\"antig-content_5 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ablpag\" aria-label=\"ABLP_2026_Launch_English_Digital-BB\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:960\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English_Digital-BB-1.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:960\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English_Digital-BB-1.png 2160w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:150\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English_Digital-BB-1.png 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:512\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English_Digital-BB-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:384\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English_Digital-BB-1.png 768w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English_Digital-BB-1.png 1536w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:960\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English_Digital-BB-1.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"2160\" height=\"1080\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s Ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The views expressed are his own)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A furore surrounded Luis Almagro, the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), after the Associated Press (AP) reported him as encouraging military intervention in Venezuela to topple the government of President Nicolas Maduro.\u00a0<\/p><div id=\"antig-903653972\" class=\"antig-content_4 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/discoverflow.co\/web\/antigua\" aria-label=\"ANU CVP Digital Broadband 1200x400_1\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:100\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:342\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:256\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1201\" height=\"401\"   \/><\/a><\/div><div id=\"antig-2825040639\" class=\"antig-content_12 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ablpag\" aria-label=\"ABLP_2026_Launch_English-_lineup_Digital-BB (1)\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:960\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English-_lineup_Digital-BB-1.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:960\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English-_lineup_Digital-BB-1.png 2160w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:150\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English-_lineup_Digital-BB-1.png 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:512\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English-_lineup_Digital-BB-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:384\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English-_lineup_Digital-BB-1.png 768w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1536\/h:768\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English-_lineup_Digital-BB-1.png 1536w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1920\/h:960\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ABLP_2026_Launch_English-_lineup_Digital-BB-1.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"2160\" height=\"1080\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The AP, on September 14, reported Almagro as saying: \u201cWith respect to a military intervention to overthrow Nicolas Maduro\u2019s regime, I don\u2019t think any option should be ruled out. What Nicolas Maduro\u2019s regime is perpetrating are crimes against humanity, the violation of the human rights and the suffering of people that is inducing an exodus. Diplomatic actions should be the first priority, but we shouldn\u2019t rule out any action.\u201d<\/p><div id=\"antig-96907180\" class=\"antig-content antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ReggaeInTheParkAntigua\" aria-label=\"lucanio\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:864\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lucanio.jpeg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:864\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lucanio.jpeg 1080w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:240\/h:300\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lucanio.jpeg 240w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:819\/h:1024\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lucanio.jpeg 819w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:960\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/lucanio.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The reported remarks led to a flurry of outraged responses from left-wing groups in Latin America and the Caribbean and to the Venezuelan Vice President, the indomitable Delcey Rodriguez, tweeting that \u201cVenezuela will refer Almagro to the United Nation and other international bodies since he has been using the OAS General Secretariat in a vulgar and grotesque manner in order to promote a military intervention in our homeland and an attack on the peace in Latin America and the Caribbean.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even eleven Latin American and Caribbean countries (members of the so-called \u2018Lima Group\u2019), normally supportive of a tough stance against the Maduro government, raised eyebrows.\u00a0\u00a0They issued a statement expressing their \u201crejection of any course of action or declaration that implies a military intervention or the exercise of violence, threat or the use of force against Venezuela\u201d.\u00a0<\/p><div id=\"antig-3128062737\" class=\"antig-content_2 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.courts.com\/antigua\/\" aria-label=\"500X500 (1)\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:500\/h:500\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/500X500-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:500\/h:500\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/500X500-1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:300\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/500X500-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:150\/h:150\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/500X500-1.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether it was the evident distance that several OAS member states were placing between themselves and Almagro, or his own sincere belief that AP had misquoted him, the Secretary-General used the public relations machinery of the OAS to deny the report of his remarks, and to interpret it in his own way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On September 16, he denied that he \u201cfavoured armed aggression\u201d, insisting that the report \u201cis not true\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Almagro stated that in saying that, in relation to Venezuela, \u201call courses of action must be left available\u201d and \u201cno option should be disregarded\u201d, he meant that actions should be taken within the Inter-American system as well as within the confines of public international law. \u201cNo one should dare to reframe or reposition my words in any other way\u201d, he trumpeted.<\/p><div id=\"antig-1697767615\" class=\"antig-content_3 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.antiguabarbudaculinarymonth.com\/\" aria-label=\"CM key_WEB 1300x300_1\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1301\/h:301\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CM-key_WEB-1300x300_1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1301\/h:301\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CM-key_WEB-1300x300_1.jpg 1301w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:69\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CM-key_WEB-1300x300_1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:237\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CM-key_WEB-1300x300_1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:178\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/CM-key_WEB-1300x300_1.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1301\" height=\"301\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>What all this has laid bare is the increasing dysfunctionality of the OAS and its increasing drift away from serving the collective interest of its 34 member-states.\u00a0<\/p><div id=\"antig-1125079847\" class=\"antig-content_6 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/discoverflow.co\/web\/antigua\" aria-label=\"ANU CVP Digital Broadband 1200x400_1\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1201\/h:401\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:100\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:342\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:256\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ANU-CVP-Digital-Broadband-1200x400_1-1.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1201\" height=\"401\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Shortly after Almagro\u2019s assumption of the Secretary-General\u2019s role in 2015, it became obvious that he was more \u201cGeneral\u201d than \u201cSecretary\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0He is undoubtedly a \u201cpolitical\u201d mind and a man of strong conviction who became contemptuous of the OAS Permanent Council, the organ responsible for the reflection and articulation of governments\u2019 views on events and developments in the Americas.\u00a0\u00a0Swiftly, he separated the Secretary-General\u2019s office from the Permanent Council, striking his own pose on issues and making his own statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Permanent Council bears much of the blame for the rise of Almagro\u2019s unauthorised outspokenness and its total lack of management of his role.\u00a0\u00a0For example, up to the time of writing this commentary, the Permanent Council has not convened a meeting to discuss the widespread report that Almagro encouraged a military intervention in a member state, or his own subsequent denial.\u00a0\u00a0Further, the Council preoccupies itself with matters such as celebrating birth and death anniversaries of poets, and issues that would be better left to technical committees.\u00a0\u00a0These matters all have their place and merit attention, but not by the Permanent Council which ought to deal with the pressing issues and with the hard task of negotiating collective and sustainable positions that would benefit the Americas as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his September 16 remarks, published on the OAS website, Almagro made it clear that he is not so \u201cattached to the position of Secretary-General\u201d; nonetheless he \u201cwill not leave\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0His passionate declaration about \u201cfighting against the Venezuelan dictatorship until it falls\u201d was palpable.\u00a0\u00a0This latter statement reveals a deeply personal position that is not consistent with the duties and obligations of the Secretary-General of an Organisation which should continuously work diplomatically and politically \u201cto prevent possible causes of difficulties and to ensure the pacific settlement of disputes that may arise among the Member States\u201d and \u201cto seek the solution of political, juridical, and economic problems that may arise among them\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly, Almagro frames the current situation in Venezuela in the context of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia, where thousands were massacred between 1975 and 1979, and in the appalling 1994 genocide in Rwanda.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Few would agree with Almagro that events in Venezuela deserve comparison with Cambodia and Rwanda.\u00a0\u00a0His exaggeration in this comparison departs from reality and weakens the constructive role of the OAS of which he is supposed to be the public face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Almagro also invoked the unsettled concept, debated in the United Nations, of what he called \u201cthe Right to Protect\u201d which he says is the last hope \u201cfor the victims and the oppressed\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0But there is no such thing as a \u201cright to protect\u201d in the Inter-American system or in settled international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2005, at a high-level UN World Summit meeting, countries committed to the principle of the \u201cresponsibility\u201d to protect, but they limited their responsibility to protecting their own populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.\u00a0\u00a0Further, they accepted a collective responsibility to encourage and help each other uphold this commitment<em>in accordance with the United Nations Charter<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Article 2.7 of the UN Charter is clear: \u201cNothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0The OAS\u2019 own charter mimics the restriction on interference in domestic affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, unless the member-states of the OAS wish to tear-up their own charter and disregard the UN Charter, the options available to them and to the Secretary-General are contained in the hard-work of diplomacy, which should include public condemnation of all parties that contribute to human suffering, to migration and to perils for neighbouring states.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That is the work that still lies before the OAS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Responses and previous commentaries:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.sirronaldsanders.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.sirronaldsanders.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"antig-1321208147\" class=\"antig-in-comments_2 antig-entity-placement\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/@hadeedmotorsltd\" aria-label=\"Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1000\/h:250\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1000\/h:250\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png 1000w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:300\/h:75\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png 300w, https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:768\/h:192\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Hadeed_WEB_Banner_MG-2.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" width=\"1000\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s Ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The views expressed are his own) A furore surrounded Luis Almagro, the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), after the Associated Press (AP) reported him as encouraging military intervention in Venezuela to topple [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-letters-to-the-editor"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.1 (Yoast SEO v24.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>COMMENTARY: No vigilante action in the Americas - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/commentary-no-vigilante-action-in-the-americas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COMMENTARY: No 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