OAS head issues historic apology for 1965 invasion

Santo Domingo.- The Secretary General ofthe Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, condemned the 1965 UnitedStates-led invasion of the Dominican Republic, which was carried out inthe name of the OAS, saying it had “twisted the country’s political destiny”. On behalf of the OAS, he also expressed solidarity with the relatives of the people who lost their lives in April 1965.

“The OAS must take a stance to prevent theevents of the past from being repeated. The OAS deplores the invasion that costso many lives.

“It is important to take historicresponsibilities… not in reparation for the past but for the sake of futuregenerations,” said Almagro.

This is why, he stated, the OAS deplores theactions of the organization that validated the intervention in the DominicanRepublic in 1965.

On April 28th 1965, US troopsinvaded the country to prevent the victory of constitutionalist forces led byColonel Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó, who were fighting indefense of the 1963 constitution and the restoration of president Juan Bosch topower.

Theinvasion was supported by the OAS, which set up the Inter-American Peace Force,which was little more than a front for justifying the unilateral actions of theUnited States, which invaded the Dominican Republic for the second time in the20th century.

Thousands of Dominicans lost their livesin the invasion. This is the first time that the OAS has expressed regret forthis episode.

Almagro was speaking during the celebration ofthe second General Assembly and World Conference of the Association of World Electoral Bodies (AWEB), which opened today at the Dominican Fiesta Hotel in Santo Domingo, headed by thepresident of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, Minister of ForeignRelations Andrés Navarro, Senate president Cristina Lizardo, as well asinternational guests.