CARACAS, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Ten member countries of the Lima Group have distanced themselves from interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said Saturday.
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Panama and Saint Lucia, once urging Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to cede power, have rectified their position, Arreaza said at a news conference at the headquarters of the ministry.
These governments distanced themselves "not only from a position that violates international law and from interference in Venezuela's internal affairs, but also from the position ... of Washington," said Arreaza.
The United States has imposed a series of sanctions on Venezuelan individuals involved in the country's controversial Constituent National Assembly, including Maduro, to support the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable.
Thirteen of the 14 member countries of the Lima Group, except Mexico, on Jan. 4 signed a declaration in the Peruvian capital Lima to urge Maduro not to assume a second presidential term on Jan. 10 due to his government's alleged violations of democracy.
Maduro on Wednesday said he would give the Lima Group 48 hours to rectify their position or he will respond with "crude" measures.
Paraguay and Canada have not yet sent diplomatic notes to Caracas and Venezuela will wait until Jan. 14 "so that these two countries can rectify," the foreign minister said.
The Lima Group, comprising mostly Latin American countries, was formed following the Lima Declaration in the Peruvian capital in 2017 with a proclaimed aim to settle Venezuela's domestic crisis.
