Colombia to Introduce Sanctions Against Venezuelan Government Soon - Foreign Minister
Colombia will soon introduce sanctions against the Venezuelan government, led by the country's President Nicolas Maduro, Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said on Tuesday.
"Colombia moves forward in terms of the implementation of these measures, which will be announced in near future," Trujillo said in a video address posted on YouTube.
The sanctions will include a ban on Colombia entry for Venezuelan government members, while Colombia will also call on the global community to introduce similar restrictive measures against Venezuela in a bid to promote democracy restoration there.
The foreign minister specified that the upcoming restrictions had been coordinated at the recent meeting of the Lima Group.
Maduro's inauguration to a second six-year term is scheduled for Thursday. Since the Lima Group, uniting Latin American countries eager to promote democratic reforms in Venezuela, is unwilling to recognize Maduro's new term as legitimate, its members, except for Mexico, called on Maduro on January 4 to refrain from taking the presidential oath and to initiate a new presidential election instead.
Early on Tuesday, Maduro pledged to provide a comprehensive response to the Lima Group statement, stressing that he had received support from "the majority of governments of the world."