Statement from the Lima Group

January 5, 2021 

The signatories,* countries interested in the prompt solution to the multi-dimensional crisis affecting Venezuela, including the members of the Lima Group and other countries committed to the return of democracy, declare the following: 

1. We do not recognize the legitimacy or legality of the National Assembly installed on January 5, 2021. This illegitimate National Assembly is the product of the fraudulent elections of December 6, 2020, organized by the illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro.
2. Within the framework of the Venezuelan people’s right to democracy enshrined in Article 1 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, we note that the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has not lost its validity even though it has not been observed by the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro.
3. We recognize the existence of the Delegate Commission headed by its legitimate Board of Directors, established by the National Assembly, led by Juan Guaidó.
4. We call on the international community to join in the disregard and rejection of this illegitimate National Assembly and to support the efforts for the recovery of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law in Venezuela. We emphasize, in this sense, the importance of seeking convergence with other international actors to channel a common response that contributes to the achievement of these objectives.
5. We reiterate our call to local and international actors, of all ideological tendencies and party affiliations, to give priority to Venezuela’s interests and to urgently commit to a transition process, defined and driven by Venezuelans, to find a peaceful and constitutional solution that will lead the country to free, fair and credible presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible. 

* The signatory countries are: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela.