Following the vote of sanctions Tuesday, December 5 against the President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro and 20 other personalities close to the regime https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29439-haiti-flash-venezuela-president-maduro-and-29-personalities-banned-in-haiti.html by the members of the Inter-American Treaty of Mutual Assistance (TIAR) whose Haiti, President Jovenel Moïse in an interview granted to the National Palace at the Spanish News Agency EFE (4th in the world), explained that he took this decision as a member of the Organization of American States (OAS) who was one of the observers of the Venezuelan elections of 2018, because these elections were not legitimate.

"[...] If President Maduro makes elections tomorrow, participates in them, the international community recognizes that he has acted correctly and is elected, I will be the first to congratulate him again. My decision was that of a responsible Head of State," stating that he supported the Venezuelan people, "but not President Maduro's regime and urged his Venezuelan counterpart, to organize "legitimate elections" as a condition for Haiti to come back to support his Government.

Recall that since last April Haiti recognizes the Speaker of the Parliament, Juan Guaidó, as President of Venezuela https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27434-haiti-politic-venezuela-new-vote-of-haiti-against-the-legitimacy-of-president-maduro.html and also voted alongside 11 other countries the activation of the Inter-American Treaty of Mutual Assistance (TIAR) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-28733-haiti-flash-12-countries-whose-haiti-invokes-the-treaty-tiar-against-the-regime-of-nicolas-maduro.html

Note that this treaty signed in 1947, prior to the founding of the OAS, considers that any attack against one of the member countries is considered as an attack on all members and obliges the signatory countries to take measures, including if necessary the military appeal, to defend the attacked State. The TIAR, also known as the "Treaty of Rio", is a sort of American NATO opening the way for a possible military intervention. 17 countries are currently members of TIAR.

In the case of Venezuela, member countries have used Article 6 of the Treaty https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-28733-haiti-flash-12-countries-whose-haiti-invokes-the-treaty-tiar-against-the-regime-of-nicolas-maduro.html regime, saying that "the crisis in Venezuela has a destabilizing impact and represents an obvious threat to peace and security in the Hemisphere."

Until last year Haiti was a close ally of Venezuela and one of the beneficiary countries of the PetroCaribe program, through which Caracas provided oil on advantageous terms to the member countries of this program. However, since the election of President Maduro, Venezuela's difficulties in exporting its oil because of a drop in the production of the Venezuelan state oil company "Petróleos de Venezuela SA" and also sanctions by Washington, deprived Haiti of this privileged source of supply and forced Haiti to buy its oil on the international market and bear the full cost.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-29439-haiti-flash-venezuela-president-maduro-and-29-personalities-banned-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-28733-haiti-flash-12-countries-whose-haiti-invokes-the-treaty-tiar-against-the-regime-of-nicolas-maduro.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27434-haiti-politic-venezuela-new-vote-of-haiti-against-the-legitimacy-of-president-maduro.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26627-haiti-flash-haiti-votes-against-the-legitimacy-of-the-regime-of-president-nicolas-maduro.html

SL/ HaitiLibre