A statement about the situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela by GUE/NGL members of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) João Pimenta Lopes (vice-chair), Marina Albiol (GUE/NGL coordinator for EuroLat), Eleonora Forenza (member) and Javier Couso (substitute): 

“We call for the respect of Venezuela’s constitutionally recognised procedures that, through a sovereign and duly scrutinised process, have made possible the election of a National Constituent Assembly.

“The difficult situation in the country must be resolved by the Venezuelan people, within the framework of the Constitution, fully respecting constituted powers, including the recently elected National Constituent Assembly.

“We strongly reject unilateral coercive measures, such as the sanctions imposed by the United States government and threats of sanctions from the EU, which represent an attack against the Venezuelan people and their national sovereignty.

“We welcome any genuine initiative that help the return of political dialogue – called for repeatedly by the Venezuelan government and President Nicolas Maduro – in a non-intrusive manner, fully respecting sovereignty, peace, social progress and the Venezuelan Constitution, the Venezuelan government and international law.”