US calls on world to ‘pick a side’ on Venezuela
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2019 09:15:03 +0000
UNITED NATIONS/CARACAS (Reuters) – The United States on Saturday called on the world to “pick a side” on Venezuela and urged countries to financially disconnect from Nicolas Maduro’s government, while European powers signaled they were set to follow Washington in recognizing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s rightful leader.
In heated back-and-forth exchanges at a United Nations Security Council meeting, the opposing camp led by Venezuela and Russia, which has invested heavily in Venezuela’s oil industry, accused Washington of attempting a coup, and lambasted Europeans’ demand that elections be called within eight days.
Guaido, who took the helm of the National Assembly on Jan. 5, proclaimed himself interim president on Wednesday. The United States, Canada, and a string of Latin American countries recognized the young leader in quick succession. Maduro, who has led the oil-rich nation since 2013 and has the support of the armed forces, has refused to stand down.
But on Saturday, Guaido, 35, gained support from a key military officer. Venezuela’s defense attache to Washington, Col. Jose Luis Silva, told Reuters that he has broken with the Maduro government and recognized Guaido as interim president.
Speaking at the UN meeting, called by the United States, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Maduro’s “socialist experiment” had caused the economy to collapse and reduced ordinary Venezuelans to rooting through dumpsters for food.