Peru Officially Revokes Invitation for Maduro to Take Part in Summit of Americas

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – The Peruvian authorities officially withdrew the invitation for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to participate in the 8th Summit of the Americas in Lima scheduled for April 13-14.

The respective letter signed by Peruvian Foreign Minister Cayetana Aljovin has been sent to Caracas.

“Any unconstitutional violation of the democratic order in a state is an insurmountable obstacle to the participation of the government of this state in the Summit of the Americas,” the letter addressing Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza reads, as quoted by Peruvian media.

On Tuesday, Aljovin said that Maduro would not be welcomed at the Lima-hosted summit over his decision to hold a presidential election in Venezuela on April 22 without reaching an agreement with the opposition. Aljovin was backed by the foreign ministers of the so-called Lima Group, consisting of Latin American nations plus Canada.

In January, Venezuela’s National Assembly proposed to reschedule the election and hold it before April 30 instead of late 2018, as previously planned, prompting protests from the opposition.

Venezuela is mired in a deep economic crisis caused by the fall of oil prices and has been facing mass protests since spring. The manifestations were initially a response to the decision of the country’s highest court to severely limit the legislative powers of the parliament.