Caracas Calls on International Contact Group to Respect Venezuelan Authorities

CARACAS (Sputnik) – The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry called on the International Contact Group (ICG), which seeks to facilitate the settlement of the crisis in the South American country, to respect the authorities of Venezuela in the wake of the group's criticism of their decision to ban opposition leader Juan Guaido from holding public office.

"The Venezuelan government calls on the International Contact Group to respect the public authorities of the country, … the judicial system of the Venezuelan state and not act beyond its functions", the Foreign Ministry said in a statement released by Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza.

The statement noted that the Venezuelan authorities had given a warm welcome to the ICG delegation during its visit to Caracas. The ministry argued that despite that, the group had demonstrated its "biased and offensive" attitude to the Venezuelan government.

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The statement also expressed its protest to the recent statement of Mogherini, in which the EU top diplomat also condemned what she called an illegal and politically motivated decision by the Venezuelan Comptroller General Elvis Amoroso to ban Guaido from running for public office for 15 years. In turn, Amoroso explained on Thursday that his decision was based on irregularities on Guaido’s financial records, particularly his failure to detail the sources of $100,000 he used to pay for foreign trips he had taken.

On Thursday, the ICG held its second meeting in Quito, co-chaired by EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini. In its statement on the results of the talks, the group called for a peaceful solution to the Venezuelan crisis and condemned the authorities’ decision to bar Juan Guaido, who has proclaimed himself Venezuela's "interim president" from holding public office for 15 years.

The ICG was formed in February. It includes eight EU member states and four Latin American nations. Tensions in Venezuela escalated on 23 January, when opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself an "interim president", disputing President Nicolas Maduro's re-election last year.

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While the United States has openly backed Guaido, the European Union did not issue a joint statement following suit because the motion was vetoed by Italy, according to a diplomatic source. Despite this, however, many European countries have individually voiced their support for the Venezuelan opposition leader.

Russia, China, Mexico, among other nations, voiced support for constitutionally elected Maduro, who, in turn, accused Washington of orchestrating an attempted coup with Guaido's help.