11 LatAm nations repudiate deaths of 6 demonstrators in Venezuela
The governments of 11 Latin American nations repudiated on Monday the deaths of six people in the recent anti-government protests in Venezuela and called for avoiding “any violent action” on the day of demonstrations called for later this week, the Colombian Foreign Ministry announced.
“We express our profound regret and rejection of the deaths of six citizens within the framework of the days of protests that took place in … Venezuela in recent days, and we express our solidarity and condolences to their relatives,” the group of countries said in their joint statement released in Bogota.
Signing the declaration were the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
The group of nations also called on the government of Nicolas Maduro to “guarantee the right to peaceful demonstration, as the Venezuelan Constitution sets forth” and “prevent any act of violence against the demonstrators.”
The group also called upon the opposition to “exercise your right to demonstrate with responsibility, thus achieving a peaceful day where the people express themselves calmly.”
The opposition MUD alliance called a day of anti-government protests in Venezuela for Wednesday to protest what it says is a “coup d’etat” and a “rupture of the constitutional thread.”
Meanwhile, the first vice president of the governing PSUV party, Diosdado Cabello, announced for Wednesday the convening of an “historic march” by pro-government forces at which some 60,000 people are expected.
