Foreign Ministers from member countries of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) gathered in the Venezuelan capital Caracas Monday for a second time to promote peace in the country.

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino announced via Twitter that the Unasur envoys met privately before taking part in an ongoing National Peace Conference convened by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to conciliate opposing political groups.

The visiting envoys were to meet with Maduro and their Venezuelan counterpart Elias Jaua, as well as with representatives of a coalition of right-wing opposition groups, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (known by its Spanish initials MUD).

The envoys, who arrived Sunday, included Suriname's Winston Lackin, Brazil's Luiz Figueiredo, Argentina's Hector Timerman, Uruguay's Luis Almagro, Chile's Heraldo Munoz and Bolivia's David Choquehuanca. Joining the mission Monday were Patino and Colombia' s Maria Angela Holguin.

The Unasur mission aims to facilitate talks between Venezuela's socialist government and its conservative opponents.

In recent statements to the press, Jaua has described the role of the Unasur envoys as offering "support, accompaniment (and) advice to talks within the framework of the National Peace Conference, to put an end to this wave of extremist violence that has caused our country so much pain and suffering."

The first Unasur delegation visited Venezuela on March 25-26, meeting with representatives of the Catholic Church, business leaders and student sympathizers of both the government and the opposition.

At the conclusion of that visit, Unasur issued a statement calling for dialogue and an end to the violent protests fueled by hard-line conservative groups since Feb. 12 in an attempt to drive the democratically-elected Maduro from power.

Unasur condemned "any attempt to break the democratic order."

According to official figures from the Attorney General's Office, the violent protests have claimed the lives of 39 people, injured hundreds and caused destruction to public buildings and property. Enditem

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