Latin American Presidents to Discuss Venezuela Unrest, Ecuador Says
Reuters. March 7, 2014

QUITO — Latin American presidents will meet next week to discuss the
unrest in Venezuela that has left at least 20 dead and convulsed the
South American OPEC nation, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said
late on Thursday.

The presidents, alongside foreign ministers, will gather on Tuesday at
a meeting of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) group of
Latin American nations in Chile, where the leaders are congregating
for the inauguration of President Michelle Bachelet.

“Finally there’s going to be a meeting of Unasur presidents,” Correa
said in a televised interview.

He did not say which presidents would attend.

Venezuelan opposition sympathizers have been holding rowdy street
protests for nearly a month to demand the resignation of President
Nicolas Maduro. They accuse his government of using excessive force
against demonstrators.

Maduro says the demonstrations are part of a Washington-backed plot to
overthrow his government.

“The truth is that the Venezuelan government is the victim, Nicolas
Maduro is a humane person who would be incapable of repressing his own
people,” Correa said.

The unrest has been the worst in Venezuela in a decade but does not
show any signs of forcing Maduro from office.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Brian Ellsworth; Editing
by Sophie Hares