2018.02.1416:19:00UTC+00VENEZUELA: Lima Group Rejects Call For Elections In The Country

The Lima Group, composed of 12 countries in the Americas, declared its "firm rejection" to the presidential elections called by the Venezuelan Electoral Council for April 22. The group also urged Nicol?s Maduro's administration to "reconsider" the call.

According to the Lima Group, the call "makes it impossible to hold democratic, transparent and credible presidential elections, with the participation of all Venezuelan political actors, with observation and international standards."

In a statement released after a meeting held over the weekend, the group also claimed that the election would be "illegitimate" if the process does not meet these requirements.

The document also said that the government of Peru decided to reconsider the invitation to the Venezuelan government to the VIII Summit of the Americas in Lima, and declared that Maduro would "not be welcome," despite the formal invitation sent by President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to the Venezuelan delegation.

The Lima Group is formed by the foreign ministers and representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia.