OTTAWA: The Lima Group of Latin American countries and Canada called Monday for a peaceful change in government in Venezuela, without military intervention.

Eleven of the group’s 14 members said in a joint statement after meeting in Ottawa that they “reiterate their support for a process of peaceful transition through political and diplomatic means without the use of force.”

They also urged Venezuela’s military to support opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president and “not to impede the entry and transit of humanitarian assistance to Venezuelans.”

Guaido’s “legitimate government of Venezuela” was also welcomed into the Lima Group.

Earlier Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged Can$53 million (US$40 million) in humanitarian aid for Venezuelans amid a deepening crisis.

The bulk of the funds are to go to “trusted partners” and neighboring countries to help them support three million refugees that have fled Venezuela, he said.

Guaido has accused the military — controlled by President Nicolas Maduro — of planning to divert international humanitarian aid headed for the crisis-torn country.

“We have received information, from the circle close to the high command, who are no longer evaluating if they let it enter or not, but how they will steal it from us,” Guaido told reporters in Caracas.

“They are going to hijack it to distribute it through the CLAP,” he alleged, referring to the socialist government’s program to distribute subsidized food boxes to its supporters.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Deputy Head of European Diplomacy Helga Schmid also participated by video conference in the Lima talks.

Guaido, who heads the opposition-controlled National Assembly, addressed the gathering in a video message, saying he looked forward to having “free and fair elections as soon as possible in order to restore democracy to Venezuela.”

Venezuelans are “very close to reclaiming their freedom,” he said.

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