The International Contact Group for Venezuela (ICG), made up of Latin American and European countries, met May 6-7 in Costa Rica to analyze the situation in the wake of the April 30-May 1 protests. This is the Group’s third meeting. At the meeting it was agreed to send a high-level political mission to Venezuela to seek dialogue and a peaceful solution, though it has since not been confirmed this will go ahead. See FAQs: What is the International Contact Group for Venezuela?

The declaration to come from the latest ICG meeting, signed by 11 countries (Ecuador, Costa Rica, Uruguay, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), was read out by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, together with the Foreign Minister of Costa Rica, Manuel Ventura. Mogherini indicated that the ICG is to extend its work beyond the 90-day period initially planned.

In a similar vein, on May 3 a joint announcement was made by foreign ministers of the Lima Group, including from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Canada and Chile, that a International Conference on Democracy in Venezuela is to be held in Lima, Peru, some time in July.  Lima Group representatives also called on the ICG to outline joint strategies for finding a peaceful and democratic solution to the crisis. See FAQs: What is the Lima Group?