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US President Donald Trump will meet with five Caricom Heads of Government who have all been moderate in their support of Vnezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The leaders of St Lucia, Haiti, the Bahamas , Jamaica and the Dominican Republic will meet with Trump at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.  These member states of Caricom have signed up as members of the LIMA Group which has taken an extreme view of events in Venezuela and insists on an end to dialogue and regime change in Venezuela has urged the Venezuelan military to support opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president.

In a statement, 11 of the 14 members of the Lima Group called for a change of power without the use of force and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid.

Mr Guaidó has declared himself interim president and won support from major powers including the US.

It is left to be seen if Caricom member states that support or are a Part of the LIMA Group who have been invited to meet with President Trump , will break with CARICOM Solidarity in support of peaceful  dialogue in Venezuela. In a statement issued CARICOM’s position in part stated “The people of Venezuela must be allowed to decide their own future in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter – non-intervention, non-interference, prohibition of the threat or use of force, respect for the rule of law, human rights and democracy. As CARICOM has ceaselessly advocated, for this objective to be attained, there has to be a meaningful and internal dialogue between the contending parties. This dialogue must determine how best the crisis can be resolved within the confines of the constitution and the rule of law, whether by referendum, elections or any other agreed mechanism. Nothing short of this will lead to the quelling of this crisis or provide the relief that all Venezuelans desire.”

The LIMA Group is a multilateral body that was established following the Lima Declaration on 8 August 2017 in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where representatives of 12 countries met in order to establish a peaceful exit to the Crisis in Venezuela.

Twelve countries initially signed the declaration: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru. Guyana and Saint Lucia joined later. The organization is supported by Barbados, the United States, Grenada, Jamaica and Uruguay, who attended the initial meeting, as well as organizations such as the Organization of American States and the European Union. In addition, the Venezuelan opposition has given their support.