Montevideo, February 8 (RHC)-- Some 500 luminaries from 27 Latin American and European countries were signatories to a letter of support for the initiative to promote a negotiated solution and dialogue for peace in Venezuela.  The document was sent to Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), both of whom attended the inaugural meeting of the 'International Contact Group on Venezuela' in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Thursday.

The letter was also signed by Dilma Rousseff, former president of Brazil; Estela de Carlotto, president of Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo; Angela Maria Robledo, former candidate for the vice presidency of Colombia; Leonardo Boff, theologian from Brazil; Dimitrios Papadimoulis, vice president of the European parliament; Adriana Salvatierra, president of the Chamber of the Senate of Bolivia; Joao Pedro Stedile, leader of Brazil's Landless Movement; Gleisi Hoffmann, president of the Brazilian Workers' Party; Arantxa Izurdiaga Osinaga, member of the parliament of Navarre; Bill Bowring, president of the European Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights; Daniel Caggiani, president of the Mercosur parliament; and parliamentarians Camila Vallejo from Chile and Irene Montero of Spain.

"We are concerned that peace, stability, cooperation and integration in our region are under threat, as a result of external harassment and interference in Venezuelan political life," the letter states, adding that "while some actors are betting on war and intervention, other governments are calling for dialogue and negotiation as legitimate ways of international law to resolve conflicts."