Opposition Leader Juan Guaido, who has declared himself the interim president of Venezuela, speaks during a press conference on the steps of the National Assembly in Caracas. Photo / AP
Key European leaders have overwhelmingly backed opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president.
The move came after President Nicolas Maduro ignored a demand by seven European Union states that he call snap elections by yesterday in a move to resolve the country's political and economic crisis.
Spain, France, Britain and Germany followed through on their promise.
A total of 13 European nations had joined in solidarity with Guaido, recognising him as president. The 28-member European Union overall was unable to agree on a unified position due in part to Italy's opposition, according to a French diplomat.
The United States recognised Guaido, who heads Venezuela's National Assembly, in late January when he declared himself the country's legitimate leader after maintaining that a presidential election last year was rigged to keep Maduro in power.
In a taped interview that aired on CBS News, US President Donald Trump said that military action in Venezuela against Maduro remains "an option".
In Europe, undeniably the most outspoken political leader against Maduro was Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Spain is one of the main destinations for migrants from Venezuela, many of whom have fled Maduro's rule and the continuing humanitarian crisis. According to United Nations statistics, as many as 208,300 Venezuelans have arrived in Spain.
In a video statement posted on Twitter, Sanchez recognised Guaido as interim leader and called for new elections "as soon as possible".
"Elections that are free, democratic, with guarantees and without exclusions, in which Venezuelans decide, with their voice and vote, their future, without fear, pressure or threats. It is, definitely, the people of Venezuela who have to decide its future."
French President Emmanuel Macron said much the same. "Venezuelans have the right to express themselves freely and democratically," he wrote on Twitter.
After British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt confirmed that his country would join those backing Guaido, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said London was studying the possible sanctions.
"What we are seeing here is a mainly US-engineered attempt at a coup." - Oscar Guardiola-Rivera, lecturer
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 4, 2019
.@AJListeningPost looks at how the news media tell the Venezuela story https://t.co/9VRB5Ahy6d pic.twitter.com/S3GMPCFWVK
"Venezuelan people deserve a better future. They have suffered enough, and the Maduro regime must end. It is time for free and fair elections," the spokesman told reporters, according to Reuters. "We are looking at what further steps we can take to ensure peace and democracy in Venezuela including through sanctions."
Speaking to reporters in Brussels after a meeting of European Union foreign affairs ministers, top EU diplomat Federica Mogherini said that "the EU and its member states never recognised as legitimate the presidential elections that were held last year [in Venezuela]. We did not participate, none of us, at the inauguration of Maduro on January 10. We recognise as the legitimate institution in the country the National Assembly and recognize the role of its president."
She said the European Union will take part in a meeting with South American countries in Montevideo later this week "to try to find both a democratic and peaceful solution to the crisis in Venezuela."
Mogherini added it was not up to the EU to recognise countries and their leaders, as it is a matter for EU countries to decide whether they should diplomatically recognise a nation and its leaders. However, she said that later a group of European countries would release a joint statement calling for snap elections in Venezuela and to recognise the president of the National Assembly as the interim president.
Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido's calls for Venezuelans to abandon Nicolas Maduro's government are booming across the world outside, but the self-declared interim president is having a harder time delivering his message at home. https://t.co/3QBlBCxK3k pic.twitter.com/HFQ3zBfoj3
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 4, 2019
In a statement, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry rejected the announcements by European countries, charging that they were "officially joining the US' strategy to overthrow the legitimate Government of President Nicolas Maduro."
The Government, it said, will "completely revise bilateral relations with those countries from now on".
Maduro fired back personally at his international critics during a military exercise in the state of Aragua, east of Caracas. In the past week, the leader has attended numerous exercises and spoken to soldiers, likely because of the major role the military will play in determining his future.
"I call to reject intervention," he said, urging the soldiers to defend the country against "Yankee imperialism".
"The coward government of Spain has made a terrible decision in the history of relations between Spain and Venezuela. I tell Pedro Sanchez, God forbid, but if some day a coup takes place, your hands will be tainted with blood," he said. He added that "no one imposes an ultimatum on Venezuela".
There’s just something about the socialist, Latin American country that makes Trump want a “military option" https://t.co/bFjVLG6v9F
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) February 4, 2019
The moves by European powers further isolate Maduro, who has already lost the recognition of a host of nations, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Israel.
If all European countries follow in the footsteps of the Trump Administration, their decision to recognise Guaido could potentially cut the Venezuelan Government off from any accounts or assets in those countries. Already, the Bank of England has reportedly denied a request by Maduro to repatriate US$1.3 billion worth of Venezuelan gold being kept in its vaults.
"The unity of positions in the modern and most influential foreign powers leaves Maduro isolated and weakened, and it strengthens Guaido's leadership internally," said Luis Vicente Leon, a political analyst and director of the Datanalisis polling agency.
EU support, opposition leaders say, may also help break the Maduro government's narrative that Venezuela's crisis is simply a proxy war between the US and Russia.
"It marks this fight not as a fight of Trump versus Maduro or Latin America versus Maduro but a fight that is of the world against Maduro," said Julio Borges, an exiled opposition politician who has been key in building Guaido's strategy.
Oil workers and diplomats say Venezuela could run out of fuel supplies within a week, including the diesel used for a large part of national power generation https://t.co/BK4BpkPmRL
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 4, 2019
13 European nations now recognize Interim President @jguaido as legitimate leader of #Venezuela. Next logical steps:
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 4, 2019
- seize #MaduroRegime assets in their respective countries & place at the disposal of the legitimate govt; and
- contribute to intl humanitarian relief efforts
Democrats tell us Trump is a grave threat to US democracy, perilous for world peace, the worst president ever. But on Venezuela, many leading Democrats are cheering on Trump/Bolton/Pompeo/Pence/Elliott Abrams and their drive for regime change. pic.twitter.com/6BctesQ3aW
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) February 4, 2019
US sanctions on Venezuela are bad news for the country's biggest bondholders. What, exactly, is the US Treasury up to? https://t.co/HtpF5CHhmk
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) February 4, 2019
The United States and more than 20 other countries have recognized Juan Guaidó, the 35-year-old president of Venezuela's National Assembly, as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.
— CSIS (@CSIS) February 4, 2019
Read about Venezuela's constitutional crisis: https://t.co/r4Nv6VMiTm pic.twitter.com/zR3mLUjwUn
More than 60 fighter jets hit alleged missile production sites in Tehran.