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HAVANA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Washington, D.C.-based Organization of American States (OAS) "continues to endorse foreign intervention" in countries outside the sphere of western influence, Cuba said on Wednesday.
In a scathing indictment of the hemispheric bloc, Cuba's Foreign Affairs Ministry said the OAS "endorsed aggression and military intervention" -- most recently against Venezuela -- but "consistently maintained the silence of an accomplice in the face of serious violations of democracy and human rights throughout the hemisphere."
The criticism comes a day after OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro presided over a special session to debate whether the ruling Venezuelan socialist party (PSUV) has violated democratic principles that would merit suspension.
It was not the first time Almagro has moved to sanction Venezuela's government for its handling of the country's political and economic crises.
Almagro's bid to declare Venezuela in violation of the OAS Inter-American Democratic Charter failed to garner sufficient support among the member nations, according to the Caracas-based news network Telesur, despite the U.S. attempt to strong-arm several smaller regional countries into voting for it.
"Florida Senator Marco Rubio threatened El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, saying that if they did not vote in favor of invoking the Democratic Charter, it would be difficult to defend the continuation of U.S. aid to those countries in Congress," Telesur reported on Tuesday.
