NICARAGUA’S Sandinista government demanded the resignation of Organisation of American States (OAS) secretary general Luis Almagro today after he called for intervention in Nicaragua and Venezuela.

In a statement sent to the Morning Star, the Nicaraguan government warned that Mr Almagro’s declarations “constitute a serious threat to international peace and security and a very serious violation of the most fundamental principles of international law.”

The call for him to resign as head of the OAS came after a speech Mr Almagro gave in the Colombian town of Cucuta last week when he said: “Regarding a military intervention to overthrow the Nicolas Maduro regime, I think we should not rule out any option.”

His comments came after US senator Marco Rubio threatened military action to remove the Venezuelan president, claiming that Mr Maduro’s Bolivarian government was a threat to US national security.

At the Latin American summit in Miami on September 7 Mr Almagro called for the international community to “asphyxiate the dictatorship that is also being installed in Nicaragua.”

The OAS was established by member states in 1948 to “achieve an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration and to defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity and their independence.”

However, the organisation, which is based in Washington, was accused of acting as a colonial body at the service of US domination in Latin America by Mr Maduro in May when he confirmed Venezuela’s withdrawal from the organisation.

Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega has long warned of a US-backed coup against the Sandinista government with armed right-wing militias waging a deadly and violent campaign to remove him from power.

Recent operations saw the government retake control of opposition-held areas, uncovering huge weapons caches and dismantling road blocks set up to cripple the Nicaraguan economy.

The government warned that Mr Almagro’s calls for intervention were in breach of both the UN Charter and the OAS charter, which prohibits acts that undermine the “territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of states.”

In an official statement the Sandinistas formally denounced his conduct and warned that Mr Almagro has failed to fulfil his functions as a representative of the OAS and to uphold the pillars of world peace and law.

“These declarations therefore disqualify him from continuing to hold the position of secretary general of the OAS, a position from which he must resign,” the statement concluded.