UN Elects Panama to Security Council
The UN General assembly ratified Panama Tuesday, with 164 votes, to occupy the Latin American-Caribbean seat on the Security Council.

This was the 48th vote for this seat since October 16, which led to a stalemate between candidates Venezuela and Guatemala, both of whom finally compromised and withdrew in favor of Panama.

The 33 members of GRULAC, the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries in the UN, accepted Panama s nomination on Friday.

This is Panama s fifth turn for the two-year seat on the high Council, which is charged with maintaining peace and international security.

Panama´s Ambassador to the UN Ricardo Alberto Arias said his country intends to apply an evenhanded policy and defend the interests of the region.

Guatemala s UN representative said that his country will reapply for the Council seat in 2011, if there is no other regional candidate.

The United States had pressured mightily for Guatemala s acceptance and to prevent Venezuela from the seat, a support that Guatemalan Chancellor Gert Rosenthal called "a double-edged sword."

Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN Francisco Arias congratulated all of the states that supported his nation despite the "dirty campaign of pressure, imposition and blackmail," but said at the end there were neither winners or losers, just the proof that the General Assembly can withstand whatever pressure.