Venezuela And Guatemala Pick Panama As Compromise

Venezuela and Guatemala, who have been battling it out at the United Nations in New York for the fifth available, non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council have agreed on a compromise candidate – Panama – according to news agency AFP. After 47 rounds of voting since October 16, there was still no clear winner to replace the seat’s current occupant, Argentina, when it steps down on December 31. Although Guatemala managed to beat Venezuela in all but one of the rounds of voting, it failed to secure a two-thirds’ majority needed to win the seat. The battle between the two Latin American nations has been billed by many as a battle against the will of the US, which has been openly backing Guatemala’s bid. The 10 non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council have a two-year tenure (two seats are allocated for Latin America and the Caribbean region). Only five of the 10 are up for renewal at the end of this year. The permanent members of the Council, who enjoy the power of veto, include the US, Russia, the UK, France and China.