Image copyright Reuters Image caption President Maduro, seen here on his TV programme, welcomed delegates more than 100 countries while his region's trading bloc threatened to suspend Venezuela

The South American trading bloc Mercosur has threatened to suspend Venezuela if it does not comply with a series of trade and human rights rules.

Paraguay's foreign minister said demands included protecting human rights and enacting a law guaranteeing free movement of Mercosur citizens.

The group set a deadline of 1 December.

The four original Mercosur members - Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay - blocked Venezuela from assuming the rotating presidency in June.

Venezuela's Foreign Minister, Delcy Rodriguez, tweeted that the country rejected the announcement and that the other countries were trying to destroy Mercosur.

She said the bloc was supposed to make decisions by consensus.

Meanwhile Venezuela is hosting more than 100 nations at a meeting of "non-aligned" countries - those who did not back either the US or the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

President Nicolas Maduro said on his TV programme on Tuesday that the start of the summit would "stay in the annals of Venezuelan diplomacy for centuries to come".

Venezuela will take on the rotating presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement, which has been held by Iran since 2012.</s>ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — The four original nations of South America's Mercosur trading bloc announced Tuesday that they are giving Venezuela until Dec. 1 to comply with its commitments when it joined in 2012 that it would comply with all the group's requirements.

Brazil's foreign minister tweeted that Venezuela would be suspended from the group if it failed to meet the deadline.

The ultimatum was contained in a statement from Mercosur founders Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay that was released by the Foreign Ministry of Paraguay, where the group has its headquarters.

The statement gave no details about the requirements that Venezuela had not met.

But Paraguayan Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga recently said that among the things Venezuela needed to do was protect human rights and enact a law guaranteeing free movement of citizens of the member nations. He also said Venezuela was not allowing opposition groups to protest freely.

On Twitter, Brazilian Foreign Minister Jose Serra said the group would suspend Venezuela as a member if the group's demand is not met. He also said that the four countries agreed that Venezuela would not take over the bloc's rotating presidency as scheduled and instead Mercosur will be presided over by a commission of one member each from the four founding states.

Mercosur took in Venezuela as a member in an effort to link the region's most powerful agricultural and energy markets.</s>ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — The four original members of South America’s Mercosur trading bloc are giving Venezuela a Dec. 1 deadline to comply with its commitments to meet all the group’s standards when it joined in 2012.

A Tuesday statement from the bloc says Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay agreed that Venezuela’s socialist government has to meet its commitments by that date.

But Paraguayan Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga recently said that among the requirements unmet by Venezuela are the protection of human rights and enactment of a law guaranteeing free movement by citizens of the member nations. He also said Venezuela was not allowing opposition groups to protest freely.

Mercosur took in Venezuela as a member in an effort to link the region’s most powerful agricultural and energy markets.</s>CARACAS: The founding members of the South American trading bloc Mercosur announced Wednesday that they have taken over its rotating presidency to block Venezuela from the post, threatening to suspend the country if it fails to comply with obligations.

“The presidency of Mercosur in the current semester will not be passed on to Venezuela, but rather exercised through coordination between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay,” read a joint statement by the four countries — Mercosur’s founding states — that Brazil released at dawn.

Venezuela would be “suspended from Mercosur” if the government of President Nicolas Maduro does not adopt all of its agreements and legal regulations, it added.

Venezuela, crippled by a major economic crisis, said it would not recognize the decision.

“Venezuela, in the full exercise of the rotating Mercosur presidency, and in accord with the treaties, rejects the declaration,” Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez posted on Twitter.

The regional trading bloc’s “decisions are adopted by consensus and respect procedural norms,” he added. “We will not allow violations of the treaty.”

Although Venezuela joined Mercosur in 2012, it has yet to ratify a large number of rules governing trade, politics, democracy and human rights.

The country was set to take over the presidency in July according to an alphabetical rotation, but only Uruguay supported the move.

Venezuela’s neighbors are becoming increasingly wary of developments in the once-booming economy.

Maduro’s opponents blame him for an economic meltdown marked by food shortages, riots and looting in the oil-rich country facing its third year of deep recession, hit hard by the plunge in global crude prices since mid-2014.

Members of Venezuela’s opposition said the ban amounted to a “defeat” for Maduro, a socialist whom they are seeking to recall from office.

“The international community is now clear about the reality (in Venezuela), where human rights are violated and there is no democracy,” said opposition deputy Luis Florido, who heads the National Assembly’s foreign policy committee.

Raquel Gamuz, a foreign policy professor at the Central University of Venezuela, agreed, saying the move dealt Maduro “a very hard blow.”

He would “participate in the multilateral organization in the same way that he governs Venezuela (but) there are regulations Venezuela has not fulfilled,” he said.

The crisis comes at a delicate moment for Mercosur, which has relaunched free-trade negotiations with the European Union.

Tensions between Maduro’s government and its Mercosur partners were exacerbated with the election of Mauricio Macri as president of Argentina in 2015 and the replacement of Brazil’s ousted former president Dilma Rousseff with Michel Temer this month.</s>Venezuela fumes at Mercosur ultimatum as Latin America shifts right

CARACAS, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Venezuela on Wednesday decried a decision that could see it suspended from the Mercosur trade bloc as the crisis-stricken leftist country grows increasingly isolated in South America.

Socialist-led Venezuela has been at the center of a fight over the rotating presidency of Mercosur and has lost its weight in the once staunchly leftist bloc.

The founding members of Mercosur will give Venezuela until Dec. 1 to meet its membership requirements or be suspended from the bloc, said the Foreign Ministry of Brazil, which like several other countries in the region has recently shifted to the right.

"Trying to destroy MERCOSUR via illegal ruses is a reflection of intolerant politics and the desperation of bureaucrats," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said on Twitter.

All Mercosur members but Uruguay blocked Venezuela from assuming the rotating presidency in June, accusing the OPEC nation of failing to incorporate a joint economic accord and a commitment to protect human rights.

Brazil's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the ultimatum for Venezuela was meant to "preserve and strengthen Mercosur."

The bickering over leadership has stalled Mercosur's everyday operations and trade negotiations with other countries, ultimately forcing Uruguay to accept a tougher stance against Venezuela, a Brazilian official familiar with the matter said. (Reporting by Caracas newsroom; Editing by Bill Trott)</s>Mercosur lays down ultimatum for Venezuela to meet membership terms

BRASILIA, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The founding members of Mercosur will give Venezuela until Dec. 1 to meet its membership requirements or be suspended from the trade bloc, Brazil said on Tuesday, in the latest twist in a row that has exposed ideological divisions.

The ultimatum will further isolate the socialist-led nation, which has been at the center of a fight over the rotating presidency of Mercosur, which has turned to the right after years dominated by leftist governments.

Brazil's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that decision was meant to "preserve and strengthen Mercosur."

Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay also decided in a deal first reported by Reuters to share the presidency of the group in a temporary solution to the group's currently being without a head.

Venezuela's information ministry did not immediately responded to requests for comments.

All Mercosur members but Uruguay blocked Venezuela from assuming the rotating presidency in June, accusing the OPEC nation of failing to incorporate a joint economic accord and a commitment to protect human rights.

The bickering over leadership has stalled Mercosur's everyday operations and trade negotiations with other countries, ultimately forcing Uruguay to accept a tougher stance against Venezuela, a Brazilian official familiar with the matter said.

Facing food shortages and political turmoil, Venezuelan leftist President Nicolas Maduro has come under greater international pressure to cede to opposition calls for a recall vote on his leadership this year.

"Having that Mercosur membership is seen as important by the Venezuelan regime to show its population that it is integrated in the region," said Oliver Stuenkel, professor of international relations at Sao Paulo-based think tank FGV. "This will certainly add pressure, but is unlikely change things in Venezuela."

Brazilian diplomats have said that until late August Venezuela had met about 30 percent of the membership requirements, which entails adopting a series of rules to facilitate trade inside the group. Venezuela was initially admitted in the bloc in 2012 and given four years to meet all the requirements.

Brazil's new President Michel Temer, a center-right politician who replaced leftist Dilma Rousseff after she was impeached in August for breaking fiscal rules, has led the charge to undermine Venezuela in the bloc.

After Temer, who was Rousseff's vice-president, permanently assumed the presidency until the end of the term in late 2018, Venezuela froze ties and recalled its ambassador in Brasilia. The leftist governments of Ecuador and Bolivia, once close allies to Brasilia, also recalled their ambassadors.

The widening political divisions in South America also reflect the changing luck of a region struggling with a drop in global commodity prices after a decade-long boom that helped leftist leaders raise spending on the poor. (Additional reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Writing by Alonso Soto; Editing by Leslie Adler and Nick Macfie)
The South American trading bloc Mercosur threatens to suspend Venezuela if it does not protect human rights and enact a law guaranteeing the free movement of Mercosur citizens. The bloc sets a deadline of December 1, 2016, for Venezuela to comply with their requirements.