Friday, June 21, 2019 6:30:22 PM EDT
The delegation from the Organization of American States (OAS) that visited Haiti on Wednesday moved “without any discussion or mandate” from the Permanent Council of the OAS. The Ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda to the OAS, Ronald Sanders, criticized the actions of the unauthorized delegation now criticized for its “lack of understanding the situation in Haiti.”
Samuel Maxime
“Instead of acting with the authority of the Permanent Council after deliberation and decision, the visit of a delegation to Haiti seems to have been organized between the Ambassador to the United States, Carlos Trujillo and the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, in response to a lettor of invitation from the Government of Haiti which, very unusually, was not distributed to OAS member countries as is the norm,” Sanders said.
The letter sent by the administration of President Jovenel Moise on June 14 still has not been shared as of Thursday according to the diplomat.
A Poor Reception
The delegation of U.S. Ambassador Carlos Trujillo and Secretary General Luis Almagro set out to hold talks with the Haitian government and the broad opposition calling for President Moise’s resignation. These talks were in hope of ending a paralyzing and violent political crisis. But all actors that met with the allegedly unsanctioned OAS delegation said there was no path forward in the political crisis with Jovenel Moise, accused of corruption and fatal attacks on the population, as president.
Following the meetings the delegation put out a statement through the Miami Herald stating that the OAS supports President Jovenel Moise and that the president should bring in OAS experts to audit the files which have shown his prominent involvement in dilapidating the PetroCaribe funds.
Across Haiti the OAS has been the butt of jokes and ridicule for the delegation and its decision. Many believe the visitors who came were not well briefed on the situation in Haiti.
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