Venezuela rejects U.S. attempts to bring domestic crisis to UN Security Council

Venezuela rejected the intention of the United States to put the political crisis in Venezuela on the agenda of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, said a diplomat on Wednesday.

"We are out of the Security Council agenda because we never will be a threat to peace and security at (either) international or regional level," Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN Rafael Ramirez told reporters after a closed-door briefing held by the Security Council on the country's crisis.

Clashes have erupted in Venezuela between right-wing anti-government protesters and government supporters since early April, which have killed at least 43 people and left more than 600 injured.

Calling the crisis a "domestic issue," Ramirez said: "We are responsible for our own people, and we solve our own problem inside our legal framework."

The 15-member council held the informal meeting at the request of U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who believes that the Security Council needs to be watching the situation in Venezuela, which is "on the verge of a humanitarian crisis."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been calling for a new constitution to overcome the country's political crisis. The government is in the process of forming a constituent assembly to draft the document.

However, the opposition coalition, which asks the government to hold early elections, has rebuffed the move as a delay tactic.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been following closely the political and economic situation in Venezuela, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the secretary-general, told a daily briefing.

Guterres has been on the phone to bring together different mediators to facilitate the process that seeks a solution to Venezuela's political crisis as well as social and economic challenges, according to Dujarri. Endi