Colombia Calls On Other Countries To Join Lima Group On Venezuela - Foreign Ministry

Colombia Calls on Other Countries to Join Lima Group on Venezuela - Foreign Ministry

Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo called on Monday on the international community to join the Lima Group on the situation in Venezuela

MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2019) Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo called on Monday on the international community to join the Lima Group on the situation in Venezuela.

"It is important to invite more and more members of the international community, those who will participate with us in the expanded dialogue, so that they will join the actions that are made by us as the Lima Group and will support Venezuelans' efforts aimed at restoring democracy and hope," the foreign minister said.

Venezuela is currently going through a political crisis. On January 5, lawmaker Juan Guaido was elected as the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which all other government branches have been refusing to recognize in 2016. On January 23, two days after the Venezuelan Supreme Court annulled his election, Guaido declared himself the country's "interim president." Incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in for his second presidential term on January 10 after winning the May election, which part of the opposition boycotted, qualified Guaido's move as an attempt to stage a coup orchestrated by Washington.

The United States immediately recognized Guaido, after which some 50 other countries followed suit. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and a number of other states have, in the meantime, voiced their support for the legitimate government of Maduro. Mexico and Uruguay have refused to recognize Guaido, declaring themselves neutral and promoting crisis settlement via dialogue.

The Lima Group of 14 countries was created in 2017 and seeks to end the crisis in Venezuela. The group includes Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Guyana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia. The majority of organization's member states are backing Guaido.