LATIN AMERICA’S anti-imperialist bloc backed Venezuela against regional opponents on Tuesday as support for the divided opposition ebbed.

Foreign ministers of the 11-nation Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America gathered in Caracas for an extraordinary meeting.

In a statement they hailed the July 30 elections to the new National Constituent Assembly — called to amend the constitution and chart a path out of the national crisis — as “an authentic act of sovereignty.”