On April 2, the Lima Group announced its support for the proposals by the United States and Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaidó to create a transitional government, to pull Venezuela out of its institutional, economic, and social crisis.
“We support the proposal made by Interim President Juan Guaidó, on behalf of the National Assembly of Venezuela, to establish a National Emergency Government composed of all the political and social sectors of the country,” said the Lima Group.
The Lima Group consists of 14 countries that have gathered on several occasions to promote democratic change in Venezuela. The group emerged after the controversial May 2018 elections, where the Lima Group and the Organization of American States did not recognize the results of the election nor the legitimacy of the Nicolás Maduro regime.
The Lima Group’s member states are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Saint Lucia.
Washington and Guaidó proposed a transitional government that “would delegate to a state council fundamental decisions to guarantee an emergency response, mitigation of the pandemic, international humanitarian assistance, and international financial support; approve the standards for national reconciliation framed in the respect for human rights, and for the holding of democratic general elections with renewed and independent electoral bodies and international observation,” the Lima Group said in its statement.
The decision comes after Washington accused Maduro of leading the Cartel of the Suns, a criminal organization that includes Venezuelan politicians and service members who sought to profit from narcotrafficking and damage the United States by “flooding” its streets with drugs.