United Nations ? The vote has been repeated – over and over, 41 times – and with each count, there is no winner in the diplomatic battle over Latin America’s seat on the U.N. Security Council.

The two contenders – U.S.-backed Guatemala and Venezuela, led by its fiercely anti-American President Hugo Chavez – refuse to budge, though it has been clear since the early ballots that neither can gain the needed two-thirds support in the 192-nation U.N. General Assembly.

Frustrated diplomats from Latin America and the Caribbean met Wednesday, hoping to find a solution that would avoid another fruitless confrontation in the General Assembly.

But Ecuador’s U.N. Ambassador Diego Cordovez, who chairs the 34-nation regional group, reported there was no imminent solution. Wednesday afternoon’s voting, he said, would have to go ahead.

It did, for six rounds, and mirrored previous results: Guatemala led Venezuela but couldn’t win a two-thirds majority. Voting resumes today.