GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Latin American and Caribbean nations are likely to seek an alternate candidate for a regional seat on the U.N. Security Council if neither Guatemala or Venezuela wins enough votes in fresh balloting this week, Guyana's foreign minister said Tuesday.
"I know the Latin American and Caribbean would be meeting shortly to start discussing an alternative to Venezuela and Guatemala," Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally said in a phone interview. "We are hearing Chile or Uruguay. These two are the likely ones."
Venezuela and Guatemala have refused to withdraw from the balloting in the 192-nation assembly, where Guatemala has led in 34 of 35 of the votes that began last week but hasn't been able to muster the two-thirds majority needed to win the seat. The 36th round of voting is slated for Wednesday
Insanally said the deadlock between U.S.-backed Guatemala and oil-rich Venezuela cannot continue indefinitely so "we are meeting to see if we can come up with another country."
Other compromise candidates that have been suggested for the two-year seat on the powerful world body include Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Brazil.
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