Non-Aligned summit fizzles for Maduro

Only a handful of leaders have traveled to a meeting of a large Cold War-era bloc in Venezuela in an embarrassment for the crisis-hit socialist government. Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has touted the 17th meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement as one that would “be remembered for centuries”, as the unpopular leftist seeks to bolster his […]

Only a handful of leaders have traveled to a meeting of a large Cold War-era bloc in Venezuela in an embarrassment for the crisis-hit socialist government.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has touted the 17th meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement as one that would “be remembered for centuries”, as the unpopular leftist seeks to bolster his international legitimacy.
Yet the turnout from the 120-nation Cold War-era bloc has paled compared to past meetings, including the previous summit in Iran in 2012, attended by some 35 heads of state.
Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Iran’s Hassan Rouhani and Palestine’s Mahmoud Abbas, as well as regional allies from Cuba, Ecuador and Bolivia are among the few heads of states who have landed on the Caribbean island of Margarita.