CELAC to Hold Urgent Meeting Amid Venezuela Opposition Violence

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or CELAC, will hold an urgent session on May 2 about ongoing opposition violence in Venezuela.

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The meeting, which is set to be held in San Salvador, was requested by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez. According to the diplomat, the meeting will address "threats against the constitutional order in Venezuela, as well as the interventionist actions undermining its independence, sovereignty and its right to self-determination."

Rodriguez also shared the document sent to El Salvador, which currently holds the regional organization's pro-tempore presidential seat, initially requesting the extraordinary meeting.

The CELAC nations have nearly 600 million people and a gross domestic product of about US$6 trillion dollars.

It was created in Venezuela under late President Hugo Chavez with many of the left-wing leaders within the group seeing CELAC as a platform to fight Western and U.S. imperialism in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The integration of CELAC countries has been used to strengthen public finances and social policies to reduce poverty, while also reinforcing foreign trade within the region.