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A group of Latin American countries and Canada urged the Venezuelan army to support the leader of the opposition, Juan Guaidó, as interim president.
In a statement, 11 of the 14 members of the Lima Group called for a change of power without the use of force and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid.
Mr. Guaidó has been declared interim president and has obtained support from major powers, including the United States.
President Nicolás Maduro says that he is the legitimate leader of Venezuela.
Maduro, who has the support of several countries, including China and Russia, has already warned that the worsening of the political crisis in the country could trigger a civil war.
- Who supports who in Venezuela?
- Why the Venezuelan army supports Maduro
Mr. Maduro was sworn in last month for a second term after contested elections in which many opposition leaders did not participate because they were in jail or boycotted them.
In response, Mr. Guaidó, President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, stated that the constitution allowed him to badume power temporarily when the president was deemed illegitimate.
What did the Lima group say?
The group issued a 17-point statement at the end of a meeting in the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
The document indicates that the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru "reiterate their recognition and support for Juan Guaidó "as interim president of Venezuela.
The 11-member group also urged the international community "to take measures to prevent the Maduro regime from conducting financial and trade transactions abroad, to have access to Venezuela's international badets and to do business in the fields of oil, gold and others ".
However, three members of the Lima group – Guyana, Mexico and Saint Lucia – did not support the statement.
The Lima Group was created in 2017 with the aim of contributing to the search for a peaceful solution to the crisis in Venezuela.
What about warnings of civil war?
Asked on Spanish television that the crisis in Venezuela could lead to a civil war, Maduro said Monday that "no one could answer this question with certainty".
"It all depends on the level of madness and aggressiveness of the northern empire [the US] and its Western allies.
"We ask that no one intervene in our internal affairs (…) and we are preparing to defend our country."
The United States said that military invention remained an "option".
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In a speech on Monday, Mr. Guaidó said: "There is no possibility of civil war in Venezuela, it is an invention of Maduro."
He also accused the Maduro government of trying to transfer up to £ 1.2 billion of public funds to Uruguay, but presented no evidence.
How does the rest of the world see the crisis?
At least 17 EU countries have officially recognized Mr Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela.
This follows the rejection of a deadline set by the UK, France, Germany, Spain and other countries for President Maduro to call new elections.
Other EU countries, such as Greece and Ireland, have called for new elections but have not recognized Mr Guaidó.
Maduro retains powerful allies, including China and Russia, who accuse EU countries of interfering in Venezuelan affairs and attempting to "legitimize usurped power".
The Venezuelan president also retains crucial support from the army.
What is the background?
Mr. Maduro, who took office in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chavez, was convicted of alleged violations of human rights and for his management of the economy.
There are serious shortages of basic items such as drugs and foods, and the inflation rate has caused prices to double last year on average every 19 days.
- Who is Juan Guaidó?
- Maduro: dictator or defender of socialism?
Many people voted with their feet and left Venezuela.
According to United Nations figures, three million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014, when the economic crisis began.
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