Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Photo / AP
Backed by Venezuela's military, President Nicolas Maduro has gone on the offensive against an opposition leader who declared himself interim President and his US supporters, setting up a potentially explosive struggle for power in the crisis-plagued South American nation.
A defiant Maduro yesterday called home all Venezuelan diplomats from the United States and closed its embassy, a day after ordering all US diplomats out of Venezuela by the weekend because President Donald Trump had supported the presidential claim of Juan Guaido. Washington has refused to comply, but ordered its non-essential staff to leave the country, citing security concerns.
The Trump Administration says Maduro's order isn't legal because the US no longer recognises him as Venezuela's legitimate leader.
"They believe they have a colonial hold in Venezuela, where they decide what they want to do," Maduro said in an address broadcast live on state TV. "You must fulfil my order from the Government of Venezuela."
Meanwhile, Guaido's whereabouts have been a mystery since the 35-year-old was symbolically sworn in on Thursday before tens of thousands of cheering supporters, promising to uphold the constitution and rid Venezuela of Maduro's dictatorship.
Speaking from an undisclosed location, Guaido told Univision yesterday that he would consider granting amnesty to Maduro and his allies if they helped return Venezuela to democracy.
"Amnesty is on the table," said Guaido, who just weeks earlier was named head of the opposition-controlled Congress. "Those guarantees are for all those who are willing to side with the constitution to recover the constitutional order."
Besides the US, much of the international community has rallied behind Guaido, with Canada and numerous Latin American and European countries announcing that they recognise his claim to the presidency.
Trump promised to use the "full weight" of US economic and diplomatic power to push for the restoration of Venezuela's democracy.
Maduro has been increasingly accused of undemocratic behaviour by his opponents, and has presided over skyrocketing inflation, a collapsing economy and widespread shortages of basic goods.
Meanwhile, Russia, China, Iran, Syria, Cuba and Turkey have voiced their backing for Maduro's Government.
China's Foreign Ministry called on the US to stay out of the crisis, while Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister warned the US against any military intervention in Venezuela.
Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the information committee at the Russian Federation Council, called Guaido's declaration "an attempted coup" backed by the US.
Russia has been propping up Maduro with arms deliveries and loans. Maduro visited Moscow in December, seeking Russia's political and financial support. Over the last decade, China has given Venezuela US$65 billion ($90.1b) in loans, cash and investment. Venezuela owes more than US$20b.
Diplomats at the Organisation of American States held an emergency meeting yesterday on the Venezuelan crisis, during which 16 nations recognised Guaido as interim President.
Domestically, attention has been on Venezuela's military, a traditional arbiter of political disputes in the country, as a critical indicator of whether the opposition will succeed in establishing a new government.
Venezuela's top military brass pledged their unwavering support to Maduro, delivering vows of loyalty yesterday before rows of green-uniformed officers on state television.
A half-dozen generals belonging largely to district commands and with direct control over thousands of troops joined Maduro in accusing Washington of meddling in Venezuela's affairs and said they would uphold the socialist leader's rule.
Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, a key Maduro ally, dismissed efforts to install a "de-facto parallel government" as tantamount to a coup. "It's not a war between Venezuelans that will solve our problems," he said. "It's dialogue."
Guaido has said he needs the backing of three critical groups: The people, the international community and the military. While Thursday's protest drew tens of thousands to the streets and over a dozen nations in the region are pledging support, the military's backing is key.
Though many rank-and-file troops suffer the same hardships as countless other Venezuelans when it comes to meeting basic needs such as feeding their families, Maduro has worked to cement their support with bonuses and other special benefits.
In a video addressing the military earlier this week, Guaido said the constitution requires them to disavow Maduro after his May 2018 re-election, which was widely condemned by the international community because his main opponents were banned from running. But there were no signs that security forces were widely heeding Guaido's call to go easy on demonstrators.
Gunfire during the protests and looting left 21 dead between Thursday and early yesterday in the capital of Caracas and throughout the country, reported Marco Ponce, co-ordinator of the non-profit Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict.
Many Venezuelans were looking for Guaido to re-emerge and provide guidance on the opposition's next steps.
Russia, China, Iran, Syria and Cuba have come down on one side. The United States, Canada, and countries in Western Europe are on the other.
As the crisis in Venezuela reaches a new boiling point - with embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro facing a challenge from opposition leader Juan Guaido - the geopolitical fault lines look familiar.
President Donald Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued statements on Thursday proclaiming US recognition of Guaido, saying the US would take all diplomatic and economic measures necessary to support a transition to a new government.
Canada said it was recognising Guaido as the interim president, and British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called him "the right person" to take Venezuela forward.
But Washington's adversaries are issuing warnings against US intervention. Russian officials have called the move a "coup" orchestrated by the US.
The US and Russia already are at odds over Syria's civil war, and the Venezuelan crisis has the potential to add further strain.
Russian-US ties have sunk to post-Cold War lows over Moscow's support of separatists in Ukraine and allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.
"We view the attempt to usurp power in Venezuela as something that contradicts and violates the foundations and principles of international law," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
In a phone call with Maduro, President Vladimir Putin expressed support, noting that "destructive foreign interference tramples on basic norms of the international law", and called for a peaceful dialogue, according to the Kremlin.
Venezuela's status as a major oil producer - it has the world's largest underground oil reserves, but crude production continues to crash - means its political instability has deep implications globally.
And Russia has taken a special interest.
Last month, Russia sent two Tu-160 nuclear-capable bombers to Venezuela for several days in what was seen as a precursor for a possible long-term military presence.
- AP
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