Chilean Politicians Criticize Lima Group Stance on Venezuela

Santiago de Chile, May 5 (Prensa Latina) Former Foreign Ministers and other opposition figures in Chile have criticized Lima Group's support for illegally self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido and his calls for a violent coup d''état in Venezuela.

In a public statement issued in this capital under the name 'The peaceful way, no weapons, building democracy', those personalities who are members of the Foreign Policy Permanent Forum point out that the most recent actions of the Lima Group 'constitute a severe setback for democratic diplomacy in the region.'

It also states that the actions of the Chilean authorities in this regard violate essential principles of the foreign policy that the country has built in recent decades, such as respect for national sovereignty, the peaceful solution of disputes and the preservation of Latin America as a Zone of Peace.

The group is made up Argentina, Brasil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru, and it is openly meddling in Venezuela's internal affairs and calling for toppling the legitimate and constitutional government of President Nicolas Maduro who reelected in 2018 by 68 percent of the popular vote in democratic elections.

With respect to the April 30 events in Caracas, former Chilean officials warn that by giving legitimacy to Guaido's position of calling the Army to storm a military Air Base, 'the Lima Group is explicitly supporting a strategy that seeks to resolve the Venezuelan crisis with the use of force.'

Such a stance goes against 'the most elementary principles that govern our international coexistence, constitutes a threat to peace and stability not only in Venezuela, but in the entire region.'