The ambassador of Uruguay to the Organization of American States (OAS), Washington Abdala, sent an emotional message to the Cubans and Venezuelans who yearn for a change toward open, inclusive, and democratic societies, as well as the end of the dictatorial regimes that hold power in their countries through violence and repression.
"I can tell Venezuelans the same thing I've also told my Cuban friends, to so many friends who today find shelter in the national territory of Uruguay. I only tell them to have faith, to have hope. We also lived through authoritarian, autocratic, tyrannical, despotic processes, and we made it out," said the diplomat in a video conference.
Her words resonated at the event "Uruguay and Venezuela: Solidarity in Times of Crisis," held last week at the Legislative Palace of Uruguay, with the presence of Cubans, Venezuelans, and Uruguayans who came together to discuss solutions to the Venezuelan crisis.
"Nobody gives away freedom. Freedom is conquered and reconquered, and when it is lost, it is very painful," said Abdala in his speech, in which he reflected on the path taken by Uruguayan society to emerge from dictatorship and forge the framework of peaceful and civilized coexistence that today allows them to boast of being one of the reference countries in the region.
In addition to Ambassador Abdala, participants were able to hear from the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado, who is staying in Venezuela asserting the victory of Edmundo González Urrutia, backed by the votes from the recent elections, while the elected president marched into exile in Spain this weekend.
"So I just say to them: have a lot of faith, a lot of confidence, because at some point an interstice occurs, a small window that enlarges, and the path is taken towards the total window of freedom. One must have a lot of personal and collective trust, and great mental and emotional conviction," the diplomat added supportively.
In July 2021, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an organ of the OAS, condemned in a statement "the state repression and the use of force" during the historic protests that erupted on July 11 and 12 on the Caribbean island.
In an intervention from that organization, Abdala stated that "what is happening in Cuba does not allow for delays" and warned that "time is working against the defense of the rights and lives of many people" on the island.
In his then position as president of the Permanent Council of the OAS, the ambassador of Uruguay emphasized that "not knowing what is happening in Cuba does not mean that the dramatic events are not continuing to occur. The reality, sadly, continues its course; it is not hidden behind papers, statements, or delays."
"Venezuelans are all over the world desperate (...) What is happening is the dramatic consequence of an authoritarian regime," Abdala stated in December 2020 after the shipwreck that occurred in the Venezuelan Caribbean, in which 23 citizens lost their lives while trying to escape the regime of Nicolás Maduro.
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