If the international system fails to end dictatorships, violence is forthcoming

(Interamerican Institute for Democracy) When the Republic of Mexico was restored, Benito Juarez said in 1867 “. . . Between individuals, as between nations, peace means respect for the rights of others” summing up the reality of those nations that fight for their freedom. The expansion of Cuba’s dictatorship in the 21st century, imposing its model and control in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, has placed these nations in a “condition of defenselessness” whose human rights are violated through State sponsored terrorism. The international system has limited itself to issue statements and declarations and to take futile measures to end dictatorships. Faced with the imminent failure of the international legal system, there is a high risk that violence will ensue.

Democracy is not the system wherein the majority rules neither without limits, nor to its convenience, it is “the system for the protection of the minorities’ freedom and rights” and this is why -as a legal mandate for all countries of the Americas- the basic components of democracy are “respect for human rights and basic freedoms, access to become the government and discharge its duties subject to the rule of law, the conduct of periodic, free and fair elections based on universal and confidential suffrage as an expression of the people’s sovereignty, the existence of a plurality of political parties and organizations, and the separation and Independence of the branches of government”.

Under the direction of Cuba, 21st Century Socialism’s dictatorships subject the nations of Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, and they did so for over 10 years to Ecuador. The dictatorial expansion model used the democratic system to gain access to be the government, and once it was in it, to begin dismantling institutions, supplant their constitutions and fundamental laws until they created their own system with “despicable laws” that violate, instead of protecting, human rights.

Beyond supplanting and destroying the rule of law, creating its own “Castrochavist legal system of violation of human rights”, 21st Century Socialism institutionalized the concentration of all power and the use of the judicial as a mechanism for repression. Prosecutors and judges are simply the regime’s operators, executioners who enforce the dictatorships’ orders, prevaricators and violators of human rights.

In Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua’s dictatorships, there is no legal due process, nor is there the presumption of innocence, nor impartial justice, nor non-retroactivity of the law, nor one’s right to defense, nor any of the guarantees to basic individual rights because those in charge to protect human rights, institutionally violate them instead. This is why there are nearly 1,000 political prisoners in Cuba (Prisoner Defenders), nearly 300 in Venezuela (Venezuelan Penal Forum), over 50 in Bolivia (Global Human Rights League) and over 150 in Nicaragua (The Mechanism).

People flee from Cuba and Venezuela and those who are able leave Bolivia and Nicaragua because these countries have been turned into the fiefdoms of power groups who, beside supplanting democracy with a dictatorial system all while simulating to be democratic, use criminal force established as “State-Sponsored Terrorism” against their own peoples and place them in a complete state of “defenselessness”. Their terror system is so effective that the departure of their victims is manipulated as a “migratory weapon” against Americas’ democracies they have placed in a situation of crisis.

People are fighting; July the 21st and following in Cuba, electoral absenteeism of over 80% on November 7th in Nicaragua, electoral absenteeism of over 70% on 21 November in Venezuela, the November’s successful nation-wide work stoppage in Bolivia, all of these say so. Dictatorships experience local defeats but have international victories with which they stabilize themselves while they prosecute, jail, torture, and exile more people and continue to operate their “narco-States”.

Democracies and international organizations issue statements and impose sanctions that neither change, nor end dictatorships, while they continue to have diplomatic relations and international economic organizations meet the demands of dictatorships. It is obvious that the international legal system is not working because; it fails to meet its objective to “keep peace and security”, has several entire nations in a “situation of defenselessness”, Castrochavist dictatorships are internationally recognized as bonafide governments under political banners when -in reality- they are organized crime.

Violence is the monopoly of dictatorships who oppress unarmed and defenseless peoples. History has shown, however, that despicable tyrannies have caused people to fight them. The international system has been created to maintain peace and the only way to stop violence from happening is to end dictatorships applying from democracies the standards of law with effectiveness and timeliness.

*Attorney & Political Scientist. Director of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy.

Translated from Spanish by; Edgar L. Terrazas, member of the American Translators Association, ATA # 234680.