GATINEAU, Quebec — Time is running out to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Venezuela, which is gripped by a political and economic crisis, members of the Lima Group regional bloc said on Thursday. The group backs Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized by more than 50 countries as the legitimate president. It wants President Nicolas Maduro to quit and call elections but he has refused. Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the bloc must reinvigorate its efforts. We are facing a humanitarian crisis and an environmental crisis of a historic proportion," he told a news conference after a Lima Group meeting in Gatineau, Quebec, noting almost 5 million people have fled the country.

Source: International New York Times February 20, 2020 17:50 UTC