This is a moment of historic peril in Latin America.

In Venezuela, a corrupt failed state accused of crimes against humanity is wreaking havoc.

In neighbouring countries, a staggering influx of refugees may eventually exceed Europe’s numbers.

And in a bitterly divided Brazil, South America’s largest country, the prospect of turmoil and chaos looms as disenchanted voters elect a new president.

But the dangers come not only from within. As deepening humanitarian and political crises grip the region, an uncomfortable spotlight reveals a wider world — including those of us in Canada who share the same hemisphere — that seems unable to do much about it, except to look on helplessly.

Read more:

Venezuela president crashes UN assembly to ‘defend his country’

Yet isn’t that what happened seven years ago in the early days of an avoidable civil war in Syria that, instead, has gone on to destroy more than 600,000 lives?

And isn’t that what happened two decades earlier at the first warning signs of an unfolding genocide in Rwanda that ultimately led to an estimated 800,000 dead?

Today, the worsening tragedy of Venezuela stands as one of the world’s most dangerous humanitarian crises. According to the United Nations, millions of Venezuelans are starving, desperate for food and essential medicines. In a country of 30 million people, more than half face extreme poverty and millions are denied basic civil and human rights by the authoritarian government.

But the dangers also extend well beyond its borders. In the past three years, more than 2.3 million people have fled Venezuela, creating an explosive refugee crisis — particularly in neighbouring Colombia — that is threatening the stability of the region.

Overall, as many as four million Venezuelans — more than 12 per cent of the population — have left the country under Nicolas Maduro’s dictatorship.

This desperate exodus of refugees and migrants leaving Venezuela, pushing neighbouring countries to the breaking point, is not unlike the crippling crisis in Europe and the Middle East created by Syrian and African refugees on the march.

According to Luis Almagro, secretary-general of the Organization of American States, “as an international community, we have failed to live up to our responsibilities in Venezuela. … The world is showing the same inaction in the face of suffering, gross violations of human rights, and crimes against humanity (as it did in the Rwanda massacre).”

Writing in The Financial Times on Sept. 27, Almagro went on: “The commitment to prevent genocide is the one last hope for victims who have been forgotten.”

His comments appeared a day after six nations — five South American countries as well as Canada — made the unprecedented move to ask the UN’s International Criminal Court to investigate Venezuela for possible crimes against humanity.

However, it was notable that the United States didn’t support this action — it loathes the ICC as an infringement of its sovereignty — and has largely been indifferent to the Venezuelan crisis. President Donald Trump keeps wondering aloud whether “a military invasion” would help, but that is not being taken seriously either by Latin American or U.S. military officials.

It is not only the United States whose influence regarding Venezuela is missing in action. So is Brazil’s. As Venezuela’s southern neighbour, Brazil is a virtual colossus in South America in size and influence with more than 200 million people. But it, too, is absorbed in its own internal crisis.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

On Sunday, it will hold the first round of presidential elections. Brazilian voters appear bitterly divided between the two most popular presidential candidates — one from the right, the other from the left. The latest polls suggest the winner will only be decided in the second round of voting on Oct. 28.

Once the election is resolved, regardless of the victor, it may very well be a watershed — not only for the country, but for the continent as a whole — including Venezuela.

For better or for worse.

Tony Burman , formerly head of CBC News and Al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributor for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyBurman

Read more about: