At the opening plenary of the OAS General Assembly in Antigua and Barbuda, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau called on the Organisation of American States (OAS) to demonstrate real results in tackling pressing crises in the region or risk losing the support of the United States of America.
Landau spoke on behalf of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US delegation and confirmed that the US is reviewing its membership in all international organisations, including the OAS.
The review stems from an executive order by President Donald Trump requiring an assessment of whether these memberships align with US interests and are capable of reform.
“We must ask ourselves how the organisation remains relevant today and whether it’s achieving its lofty and noble goals,” Landau said. He pointed out the OAS’s long-standing mission to preserve peace, promote justice, and defend sovereignty. “Can we really say that the organisation is succeeding in these goals today?”
He used the recent crises in Venezuela and Haiti as examples of the OAS’s inaction. “The Chavez-Maduro regime has taken Venezuela from one of the most prosperous nations in our hemisphere to one of the most wretched,” Landau said. Despite widespread electoral fraud and an ongoing humanitarian crisis, he stated that the OAS had done “nothing of substance” in response.
He also criticised the organisation’s lack of engagement in Haiti, where gangs have taken over major parts of the capital and governance has all but collapsed. “The United States welcomes a role for the OAS in responding to the political crisis in Haiti,” he said. “If the OAS is unwilling or unable to play a constructive role in Haiti, then we must seriously ask ourselves why the OAS exists.”
Landau added, “It’s time for the OS to show results… The bottom line is that the United States is uniquely positioned at this juncture to be an active partner in the hemisphere. We’d like this organisation to be part of the solution, not the problem.”