BRASILIA (Reuters) - South American trade bloc Mercosur will trigger its democratic clause this weekend to suspend Venezuela indefinitely and not allow it back until democracy is restored, a Brazilian government source said on Thursday.

The decision will be taken at a meeting of the foreign ministers of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil in Sao Paulo on Saturday, said the official with knowledge of the negotiations.

Mercosur suspended Venezuela temporarily from the bloc in December for not complying with the bloc’s regulations, but the deterioration of the political and human rights situation has led it to take a more definitive stance.

The bloc had planned to decide on applying the democratic clause at year-end, but brought the decision forward following Venezuela’s controversial election of a constituent assembly on Sunday followed by the arrest of several opposition leaders by President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

“The Venezuelan situation has become intolerable,” Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie told reporters in Montevideo. “For Argentina, it is clear that we have reached a breaking point.”

Argentina warned in July that Mercosur would permanently expel Venezuela if Maduro went ahead with the creation of a national assembly. Countries around the world have condemned the vote, calling it a bid to indefinitely extend Maduro’s rule. His government has been accused of inflating turnout numbers.

Millions in Venezuela are suffering food shortages, soaring inflation and months of anti-government unrest, making it more unlikely that such a high turnout was obtained by the government.

More than 120 people have been killed in the protests, drawing international condemnation of the security forces’ heavy-handed tactics.

Mercosur has no provision for expulsion, but activating the democratic clause adds to the international isolation of the Maduro government because Venezuela can only be readmitted after holding elections that the bloc members view to be democratic.</s>BRASILIA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - South American trade bloc Mercosur will trigger its democratic clause this weekend to suspend Venezuela until democracy is restored, a Brazilian government source said on Thursday.

The decision will be taken at a meeting of regional foreign ministers in Sao Paulo on Saturday, said the official with knowledge of the negotiations. Mercosur had planned to decide on using the democratic clause at year-end, but brought the decision forward following Venezuela's controversial election of a constituent assembly and the recent arrest of several opposition leaders, the source said. (Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassú)</s>MENDOZA, Argentina (Reuters) - The members of South America's Mercosur trade bloc called for an end to violence in Venezuela in a joint statement on Friday, while Brazil and Argentina expressed wariness about following the United States in preparing possible economic sanctions.

Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay again called on Venezuela to release political prisoners and offered to facilitate talks between President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government and the opposition in the statement, issued as the nations met in Mendoza, Argentina to discuss trade and regional integration.

Associate Mercosur members Chile, Colombia and Guyana, as well as Mexico, also signed the statement, which called on both the government and the opposition to "not take any initiative that could divide Venezuelan society even more, or aggravate institutional conflicts."

The statement comes days after U.S. officials said they were preparing sanctions against Venezuelan government figures.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes and Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie told reporters Mercosur countries were hesitant to follow suit.

"None of us are willing to apply any sanctions that will affect, above all, the Venezuelan people," Faurie said.

Nunes said any Mercosur decision would be "autonomous" of U.S. action, and said interruptions of food shipments from Brazil to Venezuela could "aggravate the humanitarian crisis even more."

Venezuela was suspended from Mercosur last December amid concerns about human rights. Since then, four months of anti-government unrest has taken around 100 lives. On Friday, millions joined a 24-hour shutdown as part of a civil disobedience campaign against Maduro.

In April, Argentine President Mauricio Macri warned that Venezuela could be expelled from Mercosur if it did not change its behaviour.

The joint statement did not refer to Maduro's plan to hold a July 30 vote to elect a constituent assembly with powers to rewrite the OPEC nation's constitution. Mexico on Thursday had called on Maduro to shelve the vote.

Bolivia, whose President Evo Morales is one of Maduro's few remaining allies in the region, is in the process of becoming a Mercosur member.

At the meeting, Mercosur members agreed to establish common legal conditions within the bloc to encourage investment and took steps to boost trade ties with the Pacific Alliance countries of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Mercosur is also eyeing a trade deal with the European Union, which Faurie said could be reached in December.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Latest on Venezuela’s political crisis over installation of a special assembly to rewrite the constitution (all times local):

President Nicolas Maduro is heralding security forces, portraying them as heroes fighting “terrorists” amid mounting criticism of their heavy-handed tactics quelling protests.

Speaking to the National Guard that have been on the front lines of four months of deadly protests, Maduro promised that more than 580 members of the force who he said had been attacked since the protest movement began would receive reparations as part of the work of the Constitutional assembly that convened for the first time Friday.

“I feel deeply the wounds of each one of you,” Maduro said addressing a small group of injured national guardsmen with burns, on crutches and wearing neck braces. “With your bodies as your shield, you have defended the right to peace.”

Several human rights groups and foreign government have denounced excessive use of force by members of the security forces and Venezuela’s chief prosecutor is investigating several uniformed officers for firing live ammunition on protesters in apparent violation of the constitution.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is calling on Venezuela to adopt measures for the protection of its chief prosecutor, who has broken with President Nicolas Maduro amid a protracted political crisis.

The commission urges the Venezuelan government to do whatever necessary “to guarantee the life and physical integrity” of prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz.

Ignacio J. Alvarez is Ortega’s representative to the proceedings in Washington. Alvarez said Friday that the court-dictated measures “are crucial to try to preserve the important role she is playing for human rights and what is left of democracy in Venezuela.”

On Thursday, Ortega filed an injunction seeking to block the installation of a newly elected constitutional assembly with the authority to rewrite the nation’s charter and trump all other branches of government. She also ordered an investigation into alleged election tampering in the vote to elect the assembly.

Maduro allies have said one of the body’s first tasks will be to target Ortega. She was a longtime supporter of the late President Hugo Chavez but has been critical of Maduro’s government and opposed some of its actions.

Former Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez has delivered a stern warning to government opponents in her first remarks as head of the special assembly rewriting Venezuela’s constitution.

In her words, the “violent fascists, who are waging economic war on the people” will face justice. The country has been rocked by months of street protests against what the opposition sees as an increasingly authoritarian socialist government.

Her words were greeted with loud applause from the 545 pro-government delegates who had just begun meeting Friday for the first time.

Rodriguez said the all-powerful assembly will commence work Saturday.

She didn’t say what lies ahead, but some fellow delegates have been pledging to target opposition lawmakers and remove chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega from office as part of their first order of business.

Ortega is a former loyalist who recently broke with President Nicolas Maduro, accusing him of breaking Venezuela’s democratic order.

The controversial assembly charged with rewriting Venezuela’s constitution has gotten to work, and its first act of business was selecting former Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez to lead the body.

The nomination made by socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello was approved unanimously by the 545 delegates.

Rodriguez led a cadre of close allies of President Nicolas Maduro who resigned top posts to run for the constituent assembly, which will have sweeping powers to upend institutions and go after the government’s opponents.

Venezuela’s pro-government constitutional assembly has gathered for the first time, kicking off the session by singing the country’s national anthem.

Delegates marched to the neo-classical legislative palace accompanied by hundreds of red-shirted government supporters. Some were carrying roses and large portraits of the late Hugo Chavez, predecessor and mentor to President Nicolas Maduro.

Some shouted, “He’s returned,” as a jab at the opposition, which ordered images of Chavez removed from an adjacent building when it won control of congress in 2015.

Leading the procession was first lady Cilia Flores and socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello.

The assembly is charged with rewriting Chavez’s 1999 constitution and has been given sweeping powers over other branches of government.

Representatives of the South American trade bloc Mercosur will meet to discuss the deteriorating situation in Venezuela.

Mercosur suspended Venezuela late last year over what member nations said was its failure to comply with commitments on democracy and human rights.

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the foreign ministers of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will meet Saturday. There’s speculation they will evict Venezuela for violating the group’s democratic norms.

Venezuela has increasingly cracked down on the opposition and many countries thoughout the region have denounced the allegedly tilted election of a pro-government assembly to rewrite the constitution.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called the president of Mexico a “coward” — and has gotten a swift response in the same terms from Mexico’s top diplomat.

Maduro says a transcript of a January phone call between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U.S. President Donald Trump showed deference and weakness on the part of Pena Nieto.

In the conversation, Pena Nieto repeats courteously that Mexico won’t pay for Trump’s proposed border wall, and Trump urges him to stop saying that in public.

Maduro said that showed Trump “gave him a public order” and called it “shameful.”

Mexico’s Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgaray shot back in a tweet to Maduro Thursday, saying: “You’re the coward, for using the power of the government to dismantle democracy and attack your own people.”

The Vatican is urging Venezuela’s government to “avoid or suspend” the new assembly tasked with rewriting the constitution while holding near-absolute powers.

A statement issued Friday says steps such as the assembly “rather than favor reconciliation and peace, foment a climate of tension and confrontation.”

President Nicolas Maduro says the assembly is scheduled to start its meetings on Friday.

The Vatican message expresses “deep worry for the radicalization and worsening” of Venezuela’s political crisis and for the rising toll of casualties and prisoners from anti-government clashes.

Pope Francis invited the faithful worldwide to pray for the country and its people.

The message says Francis is closely following the crisis’ “humanitarian, social, political, economic and also spiritual” developments.

A prominent Venezuelan opposition leader has been returned to his home after spending several days jailed.

The wife of Antonio Ledezma says on social media that the former Caracas mayor arrived home before dawn Friday.

Security forces forcibly entered Ledesma’s apartment before dawn Tuesday and took him to a military prison. Officials accused him of violating the terms of his house arrest by posting anti-government messages on social media.

Also hauled back to jail for the same reason was opposition activist Leopoldo Lopez.

Foreign governments condemned the decision to jail both men, saying it could be the start of a new wave of repression against President Nicolas Maduro’s opponents following a vote Sunday to choose delegates to a special assembly to rewrite the nation’s constitution.</s>Venezuela appears to be sliding toward authoritarian rule under President Nicolás Maduro and his Socialist Party. They are moving to rewrite the South American country's constitution to enhance their powers and bypass political opponents who control the national congress.

The Trump administration says Maduro, who ordered the arrest of prominent political opponents Tuesday, is behaving like a dictator trying to circumvent Venezuela's democratic institutions. The political crisis comes as the economy continues to head for collapse and Maduro's public support sinks.

Here are four reasons why the turmoil in Venezuela has repercussions in the United States:

Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, and any disruption in supply would surely rattle global energy and financial markets. That could send U.S. gas prices higher and Wall Street stock prices lower.

The U.S. is Venezuela's largest customer — about 750,000 barrels a day. The South American country also imports refined products from the U.S. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Venezuela over its authoritarian moves and is looking at tougher sanctions affecting the country's vital oil exports. So far, the Trump administration has declined to do so, but the prospect is making world markets nervous.

Venezuela's economic woes — rising unemployment, sky-high inflation and shortages of basic goods — has unleashed a flood of refugees seeking to enter the U.S. A record 18,155 people applied for asylum in 2016, more than any other country. So far this year, 8,300 have applied for asylum, nearly double the number last year.

President Trump's travel ban temporarily shuts down the refugee program, but as his administration confronts Maduro, it may feel pressure to admit Venezuelans fleeing their country on humanitarian and political grounds.

Just four decades ago, Latin America was plagued by dictatorships and military coups that created constant political chaos and discouraged U.S. business investments and tourism. Today, the vast majority of countries south of the U.S. border are governed by democracies that have brought prosperity and relative stability to the region.

The U.S. has been a major player in spreading democratic institutions. Retrenchment in Venezuela threatens to spread to other countries with recent anti-U.S. leaders, such as Ecuador and Bolivia.

As his confrontation with the United States grows, Maduro has moved to improve economic ties with other governments that have strained or hostile relations with the Trump administration, including Cuba, Russia and China.

If Trump moves to isolate Venezuela further, Maduro could thumb his nose at U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea, and develop ties with those two U.S. foes.</s>BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina said Wednesday that it has sent the regional bloc Mercosur its ratification of the group's 2010 trade agreement with Egypt, and the pact will go into force within a month.

The trade deal, which covers food, cars, auto parts and industrial supplies, was signed by Egypt and Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay in 2010, but it did not go into effect because Argentina's Congress had not approved it.

Argentina's Congress signed off on the deal in May and Argentina has sent Mercosur its formal ratification, the last step needed for implementation, Argentina's production ministry said.

"In 30 days the agreement will be in full force," the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The deal will eliminate tariffs on 60 percent of Argentina's exports immediately and phase in reduced tariffs for other products over 10 years, the ministry said.

Tariffs in Argentina on imports of beef, pears, apples and cars and auto parts from Egypt will also be lifted, it added.

The announcement comes as Mercosur has been seeking to finalize trade deals with other blocs and countries, including the European Union, Canada and South Korea, after pro-business governments took office in Argentina and Brazil.
South American trade bloc Mercosur will trigger its democratic clause this weekend to suspend Venezuela indefinitely, furthering its past temporary suspension, and not allow the country back until internal political issues have been resolved.