Updated February 16, 2018 18:29:03

Photo: Nicolas Maduro has faced widespread accusations of corruption. (Reuters: Carlos Garcia Rawlins)

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he isn't above crashing a party, after his invitation to a regional meeting of western hemisphere leaders was pulled — vowing to attend anyway.

Peru's centre-right Government said Mr Maduro would not be welcome at April's Summit of the Americas in April, reinforcing his growing diplomatic isolation during a crackdown on dissent and a brutal economic crisis in Venezuela.

"Do you fear me? You don't want to see me in Lima? You're going to see me," Mr Maduro said during a press conference with foreign journalists.

"Because come rain or shine, by air, land, or sea, I will attend the Summit of the Americas."

Mr Maduro also said Argentina's centre-right President, Mauricio Macri, with whom he has regularly sparred, should call a meeting of the Union of South American Nations group of Latin American nations.

"Call a meeting, dare, don't be scared of me, President Macri," Mr Maduro said.

"If you want to talk about Venezuela, let's talk about Venezuela."

Government critics said Mr Maduro for years has refused advice that he should reform Venezuela's crumbling economy that has spawned shortages, hyperinflation, malnutrition, and the return of once-controlled diseases.

They also said he refuses to acknowledge the extent of Venezuela's humanitarian suffering, making it futile to meet with him.

Mr Maduro, a 55-year-old former bus driver and union leader, said right-wing regional governments were part of a US-led international conspiracy to topple him and take control of the country's oil resources.

"They're the most unpopular governments on the planet," he said, naming Argentina, Colombia and Peru.

Maduro also takes aim at Peruvian President

Mr Maduro lashed out at centre-right Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, whose parents were of Swiss and Polish descent and who studied in England, as being particularly out of touch with Latin American reality.

"Kuczynski struggles to speak Spanish," Mr Maduro said after mocking his counterpart's low approval levels.

Mr Maduro could still count on support from leftist allies in Latin America, including Bolivia's Evo Morales and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega.

Communist-run Cuba's Foreign Ministry said it rejected Venezuela's exclusion from the summit and vowed "unshakeable solidarity" with Mr Maduro's Government.

Venezuela, home to the world's biggest crude reserves, also had backing from global giants China and Russia, which both lent Caracas billions of dollars.

Still, even their support cooled somewhat during a fifth straight year of recession and widespread accusations of mismanagement and corruption in Mr Maduro's Government.

AP/Reuters

Topics: world-politics, foreign-affairs, venezuela, peru

First posted February 16, 2018 17:51:23