The Foreign Ministers and representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia, in light of the decision taken by Venezuela's National Electoral Council to unilaterally call for presidential elections on April 22, 2018 without reaching an agreement with the opposition as the government had pledged and in accordance with their January 23 Declaration, state the following:
1. Their strongest repudiation of this decision which makes it impossible to hold democratic, transparent and credible presidential elections with the participation of all of Venezuela's political actors and with international standards and observers, and they reiterate that elections that do not meet these conditions will lack all legitimacy and credibility.
2. They urge the government of Venezuela to reconsider holding presidential elections in accordance with the previous paragraph and to present a new electoral calendar in adherence to its own rules.
3. They stress that the election will not be free or fair as long as there are political prisoners, without the full participation of the political parties and the leaders who have been arbitrarily arrested or disqualified, with a government-controlled electoral authority, without the participation of millions of Venezuelans abroad who are unable to vote, and that was originally called by the constituent assembly, a body lacking legitimacy and legality, whose existence and decisions we do not recognize.
4. They take note of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report on "Democratic Institutions, the Rule of Law, and Human Rights in Venezuela," which documents the serious deterioration of the human rights situation and the grave political, economic and social crisis in Venezuela.
5. They take note of the announcement of the International Criminal Court prosecutor to open a preliminary examination of the situation in Venezuela regarding crimes against humanity that might have taken place during the 2017 protests.
6. Given the continued and serious deterioration of Venezuela's democratic institutions and based on the Declaration of Quebec City adopted at the Third Summit of the Americas in 2001, which specifically says "any unconstitutional alteration or interruption of the democratic order in a state of the Hemisphere constitutes an insurmountable obstacle to the participation of that state's government in the Summit of the Americas process," the government of Peru has decided to reconsider the Venezuelan government's participation in the Eighth Summit of the Americas in Lima. The members of the Lima Group respect this decision.
7. They reiterate their concern about the increasing deterioration of the humanitarian situation and urge the government of Venezuela to allow a humanitarian corridor to be opened without delay to help mitigate the serious effects of the shortages of food and medicines.
8. In light of the increased exodus of thousands of Venezuelans fleeing the serious crisis there, they agree to coordinate efforts to address this difficult situation in an orderly, supportive and safe manner.
9. They recognize the work of Chile and Mexico and their participation in the efforts to reach an agreement between the parties during the negotiation sponsored by the Dominican Republic.
Lima, Peru, February 13, 2018