The United States on Thursday threw its support behind negotiations in Venezuela, saying talks could establish a transitional government, lead to fresh elections and bring an end to the crisis.
The ranks of the United States' foreign policy establishment are being roiled once again by resignations, reports of partisan intimidation in the midst of looming massive cuts in foreign aid that critics in Congress and elsewhere contend weaken American diplomacy worldwide.
The Organization of American States (OAS) on Tuesday passed a resolution to call an extraordinary assembly to vote on suspending Venezuela from the 34-member group after President Nicolas Maduro’s widely condemned re-election last month.
United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Austin, Texas, and then to Mexico City, Mexico; Bariloche and Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lima, Perú; Bogotá, Colombia; and Kingston, Jamaica on February 1-7. According to a release from the State Department, Secretary Tillerson will engage with regional partners to promote a safe, prosperous, energy secure, and democratic hemisphere.
* By Andrew Hammond - The eyes of much of North America and South America will this coming year be on the US presidential and congressional elections as Democrats and Republicans fight it out for control of the White House, the US House of Representatives, and the US Senate. The ballots could have key implications not just for US domestic issues, but also US foreign policy across the Americas region, including in Cuba and Venezuela.