Latin American group slams US blockade on Venezuela

A group in Latin America has condemned the tightening of a blockade against Venezuela announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.

"Such a measure far from fostering solutions harms the people and aims to continue a coup plan of destabilization to lead the country to civil war," the Communication Forum for the Integration of Our America (FCINA) said in a statement on Tuesday.

FCINA expressed "grave concern" at the "advanced interventionist attitude on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" which was represented by the self-styled Conference for Democracy meeting held in Lima, Peru.

The group added that the Lima meeting promoted a "flagrant violation of the principle of state sovereignty".

Trump issued an executive order Monday freezing all assets belonging to the Venezuelan government in a significant escalation of tensions with Caracas.

In July, Peru invited 100 countries including Turkey, Russia and China to the meeting on political unrest in Venezuela on Aug. 6. It decided to not invite Venezuela's government and the opposition to "prevent polarization."

It affirmed that no sanction or blockade, but the dialogue between political parts in the framework of full respect for self-determination of peoples is the way to build peace in the region and promote the welfare of the Venezuelan people.

"In this regard, we urge support for the process that has been done in Barbados under the mediation of the Norwegian government as well as the initiatives promoted by the CARICOM [Caribbean Community], Mexico, Uruguay and Bolivia through Montevideo Mechanism," it added.

FCINA underlined that it is "imperative" to prevent the Organization of American States, the Lima Group or any other similar instrument acts as "a pressure body biased in favor of the interests of hegemony of the United States of America".

It urged the governments and media in region to not echo aggressive statements, threats or warlike actions under any justification.

"As the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, above all other considerations, we want to be rulers of our destiny and live in peace," the statement concluded.

The Trump administration has been focusing on economic and diplomatic pressure against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, including imposing sanctions on him, his top officials and several governmental departments as it seeks to increase pressure on Caracas.

Venezuela's economy has been in precipitous decline following a global downturn in the price of crude oil, the country's chief export.

Nearly 5,000 people leave Venezuela every day because of "instability and uncertainty" amid a crisis focused on the presidency and economy, and 3 million Venezuelans have already left the country since 2015, according to the UN's refugee agency.