CARACAS (Reuters) - The head of the Organization of American States (OAS) has called an urgent meeting to discuss whether Venezuela is violating basic democratic principles, paving the way for a vote that could suspend it from the regional diplomatic body.
Luis Almagro, a former Uruguayan foreign minister, also threw his weight behind calls for a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro, who he has called a "petty dictator."
He has accused the president of disrupting democracy by blocking the opposition-controlled Congress and putting loyalists in the Supreme Court.
"In Venezuela, the purpose of politics has been lost," Almagro said in a hard-hitting letter published on Tuesday requesting a permanent council meeting in mid-June to judge Venezuela's performance vis-a-vis the body's Inter-American Democratic Charter .... http://mobile.reuters.com
