In accordance with the Lima Declaration of Heads of State, signed on 14 April 2018, the ministers and representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia, with the participation of Spain, as well as of the U.S. Secretary of State and senior U.S. Department of Treasury officials by video conference, held a meeting in order to address the situation in Venezuela and the escalation of the political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis in that country.
The participating countries once again condemned Venezuela's current authoritarian regime, which has corrupted democratic institutions, the rule of law and respect for human rights, and has also called for elections which are illegitimate and lack credibility.
For the last time, they urged the Venezuelan Government to suspend the general election scheduled for 20 May, which has been called by an illegitimate authority without the participation of all Venezuelan political actors, independent international monitoring and the necessary guarantees for a free, fair, transparent and democratic process.
As a result of the working meeting, the participants exchanged information, considered potential scenarios and identified a series of diplomatic, economic, financial and humanitarian actions that could be taken either collectively or individually after 20 May.
The participating countries reiterated their commitment to continue assessing and implementing actions and initiatives aimed at contributing to the restoration of democratic institutions, respect for human rights and the full force of the rule of law in Venezuela.
