Strengthen support for the Venezuelan people's struggle against interference.

The democratic and peaceful forces, constantly mobilized in support of the Venezuelan people's struggle to defend their sovereignty, once again express their strong condemnation of the offensive against the legitimately elected government of President Nicolás Maduro.

On Wednesday (23), demonstrating the US's willingness to take interference in Venezuela to the extreme, the government of Donald Trump said it recognized the opposition leader, the coup leader Juan Guaidó, without a popular mandate, as the country's interim president, which was seconded by allied governments.

Such an affront is an attack against the most essential norms of international relations, cherished by all truly democratic forces dedicated to building a world of peace and cooperation. It must be widely rejected not only by popular organizations, but also by institutions that value democracy and the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

The World Peace Council defends the sovereignty of nations and mutual respect as pillars of constructive relations between nations. Therefore, it strongly repudiates this latest outrageous announcement by the US government, suggested by the countries that adhered to the arrogant declaration issued in the name of the Lima Group two weeks ago, stating that they do not recognize the legitimacy of the Maduro government, whose mandate was renewed by popular vote. Most of the governments in that group, as we stated then, suffer from a complete lack of competence to claim to be promoters of democracy. This is the case, among others, of the governments of Colombia and Brazil, which also declared that they recognize Guaidó as president.

The attempted coups in Venezuela are incessant, and the resistance has been valiant, an example for peoples determined to defend the sovereign course of their nations. Resolving the crisis in the country and correcting its course rests solely and exclusively with the Venezuelan people, through dialogue already convened by the government among those who sincerely seek a democratic solution.

The governments of Hugo Chávez and, since its inception, that of President Maduro, backed by the Venezuelan people and patriotic forces, have bravely confronted such attempts. This resistance also makes clear the continuity of the US imperialist policy of interference, which spares no effort to maintain its dominance over Latin America, trampling on international law and mocking the democracy it claims to defend.

Therefore, we urge the strengthening of international mobilization in support of the Venezuelan people's struggle in defense of their sovereignty and democracy, the legitimacy guaranteed only by the popular vote to guide the country's course, in frank and sovereign dialogue with the democratic opposition, confronting the coup plotters who have the declared sponsorship of US imperialism and the reactionary forces of the region.