Editing Organization of American States (section)

== Suspensions, withdrawals and termination ==
=== Cuba ===
{{Further|Cuba–OAS relations}}

The current government of Cuba was excluded from participation in the Organization under a decision adopted by the Eighth Meeting of Consultation in [[Punta del Este]], [[Uruguay]], on 31 January 1962. The vote was passed by 14 in favor, with one against (Cuba) and six abstentions (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico). The operative part of the resolution reads as follows:

{{blockquote|{{Clear}}
#That adherence by any member of the Organization of American States to Marxism-Leninism is incompatible with the inter-American system and the alignment of such a government with the communist bloc breaks the unity and solidarity of the continents.
#That the present Government of Cuba, which has officially identified itself as a Marxist-Leninist government, was incompatible with the principles and objectives of the inter-American system.
#That this incompatibility excluded the present Government of Cuba from participation in the inter-American system.<ref>{{cite web |title=Six Report on the Situation of Political Prisoners in Cuba |work=[[Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]] |publisher=Organization of American States |date=14 December 1979 |url=http://www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Cuba79eng/intro.htm}}</ref>
}}

This meant that the Cuban nation was still technically a member state, but that the current government was denied the right of representation and attendance at meetings and of participation in activities. The OAS's position was that although Cuba's participation was suspended, its obligations under the Charter, the [[American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man]], etc. still hold: for instance, the [[Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]] continues to publish reports on Cuba's human rights situation and to hear individual cases involving Cuban nationals. However, this stance was occasionally questioned by other individual member states.

The resolution to exclude Cuba was controversial when it was adopted, and the reintegration of Cuba into the Inter-American system has remained a frequent source of contention among the countries of the hemisphere ever since.<ref name=":0">{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite web|title=Organization of American States: Background and Issues for Congress|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42639.pdf}} }}</ref> Cuba's position was stated in an official note sent to the Organization "merely as a courtesy" by Minister of Foreign Affairs [[Raúl Roa]] on 4 November 1964: "Cuba was arbitrarily excluded ... The Organization of American States has no juridical, factual, or moral jurisdiction, nor competence, over a state which it has illegally deprived of its rights."<ref>{{cite web |title=The Situation of Human Rights in Cuba: Seventh Report |work=[[Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]] |publisher=Organization of American States |date=4 October 1983 |url=http://www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Cuba83eng/intro.htm}}</ref> The reincorporation of Cuba as an active member regularly arose as a topic within the inter-American system{{spaced ndash}} for instance, it was intimated by the outgoing ambassador of Mexico in 1998<ref>{{cite press release |title=Mexico Calls for Cuba's Reinstatement into the OAS |publisher=Organization of American States |date=4 February 1998 |url=http://www.oas.org/OASpage/press2002/en/Press98/020498ce.htm}} Organization of American States.</ref>{{spaced ndash}}but most observers did not see it as a serious possibility while the present government remained in power. Since 1960, the Cuban administration had repeatedly characterized the OAS as the "Ministry of Colonies" of the United States of America.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869814,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624025833/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869814,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 June 2009 |title=The Testing of the OAS |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=22 August 1960 |accessdate=24 November 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/castro/db/1972/19720426.html |title=Castro admits problems in education |work=Siempre |publisher=Latin American Network Information Center, University of Texas at Austin |first=Marta |last=Solis |date=26 April 1972 |pages=40–41}}</ref> [[Fidel Castro]] and his brother [[Raúl Castro|Raúl]] attacked the OAS as a "Yankee bordello" and "instrument of imperialist domination" and vowed that Cuba would never join, although OAS rescinded the nation's expulsion in 2009 and invited it to apply for readmission.<ref>{{cite news|author=Lino Gutierrez|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/06/09/why-cuba-wont-join-the-oas-3/|title=Why Cuba won't join the OAS|work=Foreign Policy|date=9 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Cuba will never rejoin 'imperialist' OAS, says Castro|url=https://www.dw.com/en/cuba-will-never-rejoin-imperialist-oas-says-castro/a-19307316|publisher=Deutsche Welle|date=5 June 2016}}</ref> [[President of Venezuela|Venezuelan President]] [[Hugo Chávez]] promised to veto any final declaration of the 2009 [[Summit of the Americas]] due to Cuba's exclusion.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8003507.stm |title=Chavez threatens veto over Cuba |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=17 April 2009 |access-date=17 April 2009}}</ref>

On 17 April 2009, after a "trading of warm words" between the administrations of U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] and Cuban leader [[Raúl Castro]], OAS Secretary General [[José Miguel Insulza]] said he would ask the 2009 General Assembly to annul the 1962 resolution excluding Cuba.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30261514 |title=U.S., Cuba trade warm words ahead of summit |work=NBC News |date=17 April 2009 |access-date=17 April 2009}}</ref>

On 3 June 2009, foreign ministers assembled in [[San Pedro Sula]], [[Honduras]], for the OAS's 39th [[General Assembly of the Organization of American States|General Assembly]], passed a vote to lift Cuba's suspension from the OAS. The United States had been pressuring the OAS for weeks to condition Cuba's readmission to the group on democratic principles and commitment to human rights. Ecuador's Foreign Minister [[Fander Falconí]] said there will be no such conditions. "This is a new proposal, it has no conditions—of any kind," Falconí said. "That suspension was made in the [[Cold War]], in the language of the Cold War. What we have done here is fix a historic error."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/459/story/1079796.html |title=OAS votes to lift suspension of Cuba |work=[[The Miami Herald]] |date=3 June 2009 |access-date=3 June 2009}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> The suspension was lifted at the end of the General Assembly, but, to be readmitted to the Organization, Cuba will need to comply with all the treaties signed by the Member States, including the [[Inter-American Democratic Charter]] of 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oas.org/consejo/GENERAL%20ASSEMBLY/Documents/AG04688E08.doc|title=Proceedings Volume 1|access-date=28 December 2019}}</ref>  A statement issued by the Cuban government on 8 June 2009 stated that while Cuba welcomed the Assembly's gesture, in light of the Organization's historical record "Cuba will not return to the OAS."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2009/junio/lun8/Declaration.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219170708/http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2009/junio/lun8/Declaration.html|archive-date=19 February 2012|title=Declaration of the Revolutionary Government |work=[[Granma (newspaper)|Granma]] |date=8 June 2009 |access-date=15 June 2009}}</ref>

=== Suspension of Honduras (2009–2011) ===
[[File:Suspensión de Honduras de la OEA.jpg|thumb|The OAS's Extraordinary Assembly voted to suspend [[Honduras]] on 5 July 2009, during the [[2009 Honduran constitutional crisis]].]]
Following [[2009 Honduran constitutional crisis|the expulsion of its President]] [[Manuel Zelaya]], Honduras' membership of the Organization was suspended unanimously at midnight on 5 July 2009.<ref name="Americas group suspends Honduras">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8134699.stm |title=Americas group suspends Honduras |date=5 July 2009 |access-date=5 July 2009 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> The ''[[de facto]]'' government had already announced it was leaving the OAS hours earlier; this was not, however, taken into account by the OAS, which did not recognize that government as legitimate.<ref name="Honduras leaders pull out of OAS">{{cite web |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0704/honduras.html |title=Honduras leaders pull out of OAS |date=4 July 2009 |access-date=5 July 2009 |publisher=[[RTÉ]]}}</ref> An extraordinary meeting had been conducted by the OAS in Washington, D.C., with Zelaya in attendance.<ref name="Americas group suspends Honduras"/><ref name="OAS expels Honduras' membership over coup">{{cite news |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-07/05/content_8379729.htm |title=OAS expels Honduras' membership over coup |date=5 July 2009 |access-date=5 July 2009 |newspaper=[[China Daily]]}}</ref><ref name="Organisation of American States suspends Honduras over coup"/> The suspension of Honduras was approved unanimously with 33 votes (Honduras did not vote).<ref name="Americas group suspends Honduras"/><ref name="Organisation of American States suspends Honduras over coup"/> This was the first suspension carried out by the OAS since that of Cuba in 1962.<ref name="Americas group suspends Honduras"/><ref name="Organisation of American States suspends Honduras over coup">{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6640179.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529142805/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6640179.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 May 2010 |title=Organisation of American States suspends Honduras over coup |date=5 July 2009 |access-date=5 July 2009 |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London |first=Deirdre |last=Hipwell}}</ref>

After Zelaya's return to Honduras in 2011, the country was re-admitted to the Organization on 1 June 2011 with 32 votes in favor and 1 (Ecuador) against. Venezuela expressed some reservations.<ref>[http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-698/11 Press Releases :: E-698/11]. OAS. Retrieved on 12 July 2013.</ref>

=== Nicaragua ===
On 7 November 2021, Nicaragua held a [[2021 Nicaraguan general election|general election]] which saw President [[Daniel Ortega]] re-elected to a fourth term in office.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20211108-biden-says-nicaragua-s-presidential-election-was-neither-free-nor-fair|date=8 November 2021|title=Biden calls Nicaragua's election a 'pantomime' that's 'neither free nor fair'|access-date=20 November 2021|website=France 24|language=en}}</ref> In a vote by the OAS Permanent Council, 25 member states voted in favour of a resolution condemning the election. Seven countries, including Mexico, Honduras and Bolivia, abstained. The motion stated that the election was "not free, fair or transparent and lack[s] democratic legitimacy" and also instructed the Permanent Council to undertake an assessment of the situation and "take appropriate action".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/oas-members-condemn-nicaragua-elections-urge-action-2021-11-13/|title=OAS members condemn Nicaragua elections, urge action|date=13 November 2021|language=en|work=Reuters|access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref>

In response to this statement, Nicaraguan Foreign Minister {{ill|Denis Moncada|es}} announced on 19 November that Nicaragua would leave the OAS.<ref name="WaPo">{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/nicaragua-daniel-ortega-bad9d689f5bb528f571f86e8a6e65c4e|title=Nicaragua says it will leave Organization of American States|work=Associated Press News|date=19 November 2021|access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> Moncada called the bloc "an instrument of interference and intervention" and accused it of "facilitating the hegemony of the United States with its interventionism over the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean."<ref>{{cite web|title=Nicaragua decides to leave OAS after election criticism|date=19 November 2021|url=https://www.dw.com/en/nicaragua-decides-to-leave-oas-after-election-criticism/a-59884427|access-date=21 November 2021|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=KawsachunNews|author=Kawsachun News|number=1461715434143633422|title=Nicaragua's condemns the OAS as "an instrument of interference and intervention" adding that "it has as its mission to facilitate the hegemony of the United States with its interventionism against the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean."|access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> According to Article 143 of the OAS Charter, the process to withdraw from the organization takes two years after its announcement.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Maldonado|first=Carlos Salinas|date=19 November 2021|title=Ortega anuncia la salida de la OEA tras el rechazo a las elecciones de Nicaragua|url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2021-11-19/ortega-anuncia-la-salida-de-la-oea-tras-el-rechazo-a-las-elecciones-de-nicaragua.html|access-date=21 November 2021|website=[[El País]]|language=es}}</ref>

In April 2022, Nicaragua announced that it had completed its withdrawal from the OAS. It said the OAS offices in Managua had been closed.  The OAS stated that, due to the terms of treaty, the withdrawal would not take effect until 2023.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nicaragua withdraws from regional bloc OAS after election row |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/nicaragua-withdraws-from-regional-bloc-oas-after-election-row/ar-AAWyVBI |access-date=25 April 2022 |work=MSN |date=25 April 2022}}</ref> Nicaragua eventually completed its withdrawal from the OAS on 19 November that year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.state.gov/accountability-for-daniel-ortega-and-rosario-murillo-following-oas-departure/ |title=Accountability for Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo Following OAS Departure |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=19 November 2023 }}</ref>

=== Venezuela ===
On 28 April 2017, Venezuela notified the OAS of its denunciation of the Charter of the OAS, which as per Article 143 would lead to the withdrawal of Venezuela from the OAS effective two years from the date of notification.<ref name=VZWD>{{Cite news|url=http://www.oas.org/en/sla/dil/inter_american_treaties_A-41_charter_OAS_signatories.asp|title=CHARTER OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES (A-41)|access-date=29 April 2019|publisher=Organization of American States}}</ref>  During this period, the country did not plan on participating in the OAS.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/venezuela-protesters-hit-by-tear-gas-vow-to-keep-pressure-on-government/2017/04/26/c6fbdcaa-29ee-11e7-9081-f5405f56d3e4_story.html|title=Venezuela says it will quit Organization of American States|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref>

During the [[2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis]], the [[President of the National Assembly of Venezuela]] [[Juan Guaidó]], who was recognized by the [[National Assembly (Venezuela)|National Assembly]] as the acting president,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-10 |title=La OEA aprobó la resolución que declara ilegítimo al nuevo gobierno de Nicolás Maduro |url=https://www.infobae.com/america/venezuela/2019/01/10/en-vivo-la-oea-debate-en-sesion-extraordinaria-la-asuncion-de-nicolas-maduro/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=infobae |language=es-ES}}</ref> sent a letter to the OAS Secretary General annulling the previous denunciation of the OAS Charter,{{cn|date=February 2025}} and expressing his desire for Venezuela to remain a member of the OAS.<ref name=VZWD/> The National Assembly designated a special envoy as representative to the OAS, lawyer [[Gustavo Tarre Briceño]], who the OAS voted to recognize as Venezuela's delegate in April.<ref name="VZSE"/><ref name=VZGD>{{cite web |url = https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/oas-recognises-guaido-envoy-venezuela-elections-held-190409210229113.html|title=OAS recognises Guaido's envoy until new Venezuela elections held |date=9 April 2019|access-date=27 April 2019|publisher=[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=http://efectococuyo.com/principales/tarre-briceno-primera-designacion-gubernamental-de-la-an/|title=Tarre Briceño, primera designación gubernamental de la AN|website=Efecto Cocuyo|language=es|access-date=23 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123071554/http://efectococuyo.com/principales/tarre-briceno-primera-designacion-gubernamental-de-la-an/|archive-date=23 January 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> In October 2022, a bloc of leftist OAS member states led a motion to remove Tarre's representation in the organization. Out of 35 members, 19 nations voted in favor of the motion and 4 against. The motion fell short of the 24 votes required for a two-thirds majority.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Aquino |first1=Marco |last2=Rochabrun |first2=Marcelo |date=7 October 2022 |title=Latin America's left raises pressure on Venezuela's Guaido at OAS summit |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/latin-americas-left-raises-pressure-venezuelas-guaido-oas-2022-10-06/ |access-date=7 October 2022}}</ref>