CARIBBEAN leaders gathered in Cuba rejected intervention by the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Venezuela’s internal affairs on Saturday.

The seventh summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) met in Havana amid attempts by OAS secretary-general Luis Almagro to sanction President Nicolas Maduro’s government at the behest of Venezuela’s right-wing opposition, which is bent on regime change.

In his opening address, Cuban President Raul Castro stressed the importance of regional unity and the commitment of the ACS members not to interfere — directly or indirectly — in the affairs of others.

He reiterated Cuba’s “solid and unconditional solidarity with our fraternal Venezuelan people, with the legitimate governmnet of President Nicolas Maduro and with the Bolivarian revolution initiated by comandante Hugo Chavez.”

Mr Castro also condemned the Washington-based OAS, saying Cuba — expelled following its 1959 revolution — would never rejoin.

“The OAS, since its foundation, was, is and will be an instrument of imperialist domination and no reform could change its nature or history,” he said. Paraphrasing 19th-century Cuban liberation hero Jose Marti, Mr Castro declared: “The northern and southern seas will unite and a serpent will hatch from an eagle’s egg before Cuba joins the OAS.”

Mr Maduro ridiculed Mr Almagro’s plans, saying: “They threaten us with the Democratic Charter — please — to teach Venezuela, where we have the leading participatory democracy.

“One must not try to shatter the equilibrium of stability and respect in the region to yield to pressure from Washington,” he warned.

“Venezuela is not going to kneel, we’re going to fight with the same strength. We respect all political and economic processes but they cannot lay hands on our sovereignty.”

Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela expressed hopes for a peaceful solution to the Venezuelan political crisis through dialogue that guarantees the constitutional order.

Mass protests against outside intervention were held across Venezuela on Saturday as former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Zapatero met Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez — jailed for his role in deadly 2014 riots.

Mr Zapatero mediated indirect talks between the government and opposition in the Dominican Republic late last month.