The group no longer believes in the coup d'etat | In Peru, the songs …

Page12 in Peru
From Lima

Under the shadow of Washington, the Lima group, reunited in emergency in the Peruvian capital at the request of Colombia, once again declared its support to the Venezuelan opposition and firmly condemned the Nicolás Maduro government after the failed coup d'etat led by Juan Guaidó. But this time for the first time, the Group opens the doors of its support for a negotiated solution, in which it even uses Maduro's allies, such as Cuba. A major change in this group of countries that, until today, demanded the end of the Chavez regime without leaving room for a consensus agreement. A change after the opposition uprising did not find the military support he was expecting, nor a mbadive mobilization of citizens for his cause.

The statement made yesterday by the Foreign Ministers of the Lima Group confirms the losses of the countries that have moved away from this group which aims to demand the end of the Maduro government. Of the fourteen countries that make it up, eleven are those who signed the declaration: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru. They did not adhere to this statement, which supports the Guaidó uprising in Mexico, whose distance from the Lima group has been evident since Manuel López Obrador took office. Nor Guyana and Santa Lucia.

The Foreign Ministers of the Lima Group had planned to contact US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo by video conference – perhaps to hear the final guidelines on the line to follow? – but this communication was thwarted by "technical problems", said Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Néstor Popolizio. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, José Valencia, attended the meeting as an observer.

Although they have already expressed themselves on the issue a few days ago, when the coup d'etat was launched to overthrow Maduro, the foreign ministers of the Lima group countries have put more time than in the debates preceding the publication of the latter declaration. He had changed the scenario. The in camera meeting lasted five hours. The opening of the Lima Group for a concerted exit and the inclusion in the declaration of points calling for an approach vis-à-vis the countries proposing a negotiation as an option to the Venezuelan crisis would have been the most controversial point of the debate and its duration of several hours. more than expected the discussion.

Finally, in the midst of the disappointment that prevailed in the room of the Peruvian Chancellery where the meeting was being held, the Lima Group countries announced that "steps will be taken to ensure that Cuba participates in the solution of the crisis in Venezuela. "The group's call also includes the contact group, made up of Latin American countries (Mexico, Uruguay, Bolivia and Costa Rica) and European countries (Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands). , Sweden and the European Union) who have sought from the beginning a dialogue. Now, the Lima group is calling the countries of both groups to an "urgent" meeting to "seek convergence in the common goal of restoring democracy in Venezuela".

According to the international badyst Ramiro Escobar of the Catholic University of Peru, the Group's appeal constitutes a recognition that the option of eliminating Maduro by force seems exhausted. "The Lima group is trying to strengthen the option of a negotiation.The urgent call to the contact group involves the approval of a negotiation, at which they are convened to participate in Cuba, which is the most important of this statement.This call for dialogue is a means of recognizing the option of suppressing Maduro by force, the fact that the limit situation may lead to greater bloodshed and that 'a negotiated solution must be found no longer work.' This call to Cuba marks a distance with the US I think this point should be the result of a complex negotiation within the group, "Escobar told PáginaI12.

In the other points of the statement, the Lima group reiterates its support for the opposition uprising, which they refuse to qualify as a coup attempt, and encourages Guaidó and l '; opposition to continue their actions. They condemn the repression of the Chavez government during the demonstrations, but they remain silent in the face of the violence of the opposition

"The countries of the Lima group are under pressure from the United States and it is true that on this occasion, no military intervention in Venezuela is explicitly rejected, but they propose two very important columns for a negotiation, namely calls to the contact group Cuba, which is contrary to military intervention, "says badyst Escobar.