OAS Secretary General Calls Extraordinary Meeting After Attack in Venezuela

Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Luis Almagro demanded on Thursday to call extraordinary meeting of organization's permanent council after Wednesday's attack on the Venezuelan National Assembly.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, a mob of supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro attacked the opposition-controlled parliament, hurting seven legislators and blocking 350 people inside the building for several hours. The president criticized the attack on the assembly, while the government promised to investigate the case.

"According to the Democratic Charter, I asked to call the Extraordinary Meeting of OAS Permanent Council on the situation in Venezuela," Almagro tweeted.

In a letter to the chair of OAS Permanent Council, Almagro insisted on holding this session as soon as possible, possibly on Friday evening.

Previous OAS attempts to adopt any statement on the situation in Venezuela were unsuccessful. In late June, the OAS General Assembly completed its session without adopting statements on this issue. In late April, Venezuela stated that it was withdrawing from the OAS and did not intend to recognize any decision that could be taken by the organization regarding the situation in the country. The country has seen three months of protests against authorities and calls to hold an early election. According to recent reports, the protests claimed lives of more than 90 people.