ALBA Defends Venezuela as Peru Meeting Steps Up Threats

Countries from the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, ALBA, have reiterated their support for the Venezuelan government at the "Sixth Extraordinary Meeting of the Political Council" in Venezuela.

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The countries expressed their solidarity in a public declaration which congratulated Venezuela on the Constituent Assembly and rejected mounting international attacks against the country.

"We reiterate that the unilateral economic sanctions imposed against the Venezuelan people are a flagrant violation of international law and human rights, as well as an unacceptable interventionist implementation, whose only purpose is to directly hinder the Bolivarian people and government of Venezuela in order to change the regime," the declaration stated.

ALBA Secretary-General David Choquehuanca said the declaration represents the wishes of the people of Latin America who want "peace and solidarity."

"Our people seek harmony, integration and here we have a declaration of total unconditional support to Venezuela’s democracy that its democratically-elected president and to the people who have been valiantly defending their rights and sovereignty," he told teleSUR.

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The ALBA meeting coincided with another meeting in Lima called by Peru to implement new measures to further isolate the Venezuelan government.

The representatives at the meeting signed a Declaration of Lima, outlined 16 measures to increase pressure against President Maduro.

These included: qualifying Maduro as a "dictator," rejecting the Constituent Assembly and refusing to acknowledge any legal action that does not come from the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

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Representatives of 17 countries signed the agreement, including ministers from Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Costa Rica, as well as Jamaica and Guyana.

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videogaray said the declaration would impede the Venezuelan government from seeking loans or concessions from the signee countries without the authorization of the National Assembly.

The agreement has been criticized as an attempt to push through the anti-Maduro agenda of the Organization of the American States which sought to use the Democratic Charter against the Venezuelan government.

The ALBA countries have rejected Peru's interventionist measure and instead called for solidarity.

"The authorities that are in Peru do not represent the wishes of our people. Our people do not want war, they don’t want conflict," Choquehuanca told teleSUR.

Cuban diplomat Bruno Rodriguez also highlighted the need for Latin American countries to stand with Venezuela.

"The battle for Venezuela is the battle for Latin America and the battle for the world," he said at the ALBA meeting.

The meetings come as Venezuela prepares to hold regional elections amid escalating international pressure.