Lima Group Decides to Offer Asylum to Venezuelan Officials - Reports

04:52 GMT, 1 November 2018

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - The countries of the Lima Group agreed to grant the status of political refugees to Venezuelan officials seeking to receive asylum in these states, media reported.

Sputnik

The plan would entail all the officials who served between 1998 and the present time, the Nacional news outlet reported.

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The alliance had also agreed to facilitate border crossing and recognition of educational certificates for Venezuelan citizens whose documents had expired, the outlet added.

The Lima Group countries reached their accord during their meeting in Colombia on Wednesday. The states’ officials gathered in Bogota to discuss possible sanctions that might be slapped on Venezuela after the upcoming inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro, who was re-elected during the May vote, considered by the alliance as illegitimate. Venezuela, in its turn, has maintained that its presidential election was held in accordance with legal norms.

The Lima Group was formed in 2017 with an aim to settle the Venezuelan crisis and counter human rights violations in the country.