Paraguayan President Santiago Peña told the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that Latin American countries need to take the lead in pushing for democratic change in Venezuela rather than waiting on the United States.
“We cannot expect the United States or any other northern power to solve our problems, we have to do it ourselves,” Peña said during his UNGA address.
Peña disclosed that before arriving in New York, he traveled to Caracas, even though Paraguay and Venezuela broke diplomatic ties under socialist leader Nicolás Maduro. He said the trip drew surprise and criticism, and he used his UN speech to explain his reasoning.
“I did not go to Venezuela to endorse a regime; I did not go to endorse anything at all,” Peña said. “No, gentlemen, quite the opposite. Paraguay loves democracy, and believes that the people of Venezuela also deserve democracy.”
He argued that a quarter-century of statements and condemnations from regional leaders had produced nothing for Venezuelans. “For 25 years, we watched, waited, and condemned from a comfortable distance, but did nothing for the Venezuelan people. We watched. We talked. But we didn’t act,” he said. “We did nothing. And meanwhile, our Venezuelan brothers and sisters were suffering.”
Peña described his visit as a “second step” toward a democratic transition, following what he called the difficult “first step” of Maduro’s arrest earlier this year. He said he wants Venezuela to undergo the kind of transition Paraguay experienced in 1989, after 35 years of dictatorship. “I don’t want a photo, I don’t want a statement, I want — we want — a transition,” he said.
He said Paraguay has opened a dialogue channel with Venezuelan authorities and is taking concrete steps toward a government accountable to “its sole sovereign: the people.” He added that engaging in dialogue does not mean abandoning principles or ignoring the past, but rather having the courage to act.
Peña called on other Latin American nations and the UN to help Venezuela reintegrate internationally and achieve a democratic government, and said the same push for free elections should extend to Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti — “perhaps with greater strength.”
“Let’s bring light to these brother peoples,” he said. “Because where there’s free elections, there’s hope.”
Peña opened his remarks by referencing this year’s UN theme, “Restoring trust, managing transformation,” calling it a good slogan but insisting that “people no longer want slogans — people want solutions to their problems.” He said trust can only be rebuilt by confronting problems directly and producing results, not through statements alone.
The Paraguayan leader also reaffirmed his country’s support for the sanctity of life from conception and for the family as society’s basic unit. He restated Paraguay’s long-standing backing of Taiwan, calling for its full inclusion in the UN and international bodies and saying the relationship, built over 70 years, rests on shared democratic values rather than convenience.
