Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro ‘not welcome’ in Peru
Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has said that Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro is “not welcome” at a regional summit to be held in the Peruvian capital, Lima, in April.
Just last week, Venezuelan officials had confirmed that President Maduro would attend the summit.
Mr Kuczynski cited “a rupture in the democratic order” in Venezuela as the reason for uninviting Mr Maduro.
Peru’s leader also called on Venezuela to release all political prisoners.
‘Not free and fair’
Mr Kuczynski made the announcement after a meeting of the Lima Group, which is made up of more than a dozen Western Hemisphere countries concerned about the political and economic crisis in Venezuela.
On Wednesday, the group, which includes regional powers Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Mexico, criticised the decision by the Venezuelan government to hold a snap presidential election on 22 April without reaching an agreement with the opposition coalition.
In a joint statement, 14 countries from the Lima Group said the elections would not be free and fair as long as Venezuela’s opposition was not allowed to fully participate.
