Mercosur suspends Venezuela, urges immediate transition
Source: Reuters
South American trade bloc Mercosur suspended Venezuela indefinitely on Saturday, adding more international pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to dismantle a newly created pro-government constituent assembly and restore democracy.
Foreign ministers of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil announced the decision in Sao Paulo, urging Maduro to release prisoners and immediately start a political transition.
"We are saying: Stop with this! Enough with the deaths, enough with the repression. It is not possible to inflict such torture on the people," Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes said after the meeting.
As the suspension was announced, the constituent assembly removed dissident state prosecutor Luisa Ortega from her job. Asked to comment on Ortega's dismissal, Nunes replied with a Latin proverb: "Whom the gods would destroy they first drive mad."
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/mercosur-suspends-venezuela-urges-immediate-transition-153341354.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
