MOSCOW, Russia – The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian Senate, Konstantin Kosachev, declared on Wednesday that the status of President of Venezuela is determined by the people, so Russia does not recognize the presidential status of opposition candidate Juan Guaidó.

“Guaidó’s status can not be determined by the outside world, be it the president of the United States or any other country. It can only be determined by the people of Venezuela and only by constitutional means,” said the senator.

“In this sense, for Russia, the presidential status of Guaidó does not exist,” emphasized Kosachev.

The US has previously announced that Nicolás Maduro no longer recognizes Venezuela’s president, and considers National Assembly leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s head of state.

US leader Donald Trump spoke to Venezuela’s self-proclaimed president on Wednesday and congratulated him on his “historic takeover”, confirming strong support for Venezuela’s struggle to restore democracy.

Opposition leader Juan Guaidó said he had held “confidential meetings” with the Venezuelan army for support. According to the Russian expert of the School of Economics, Andrei Suzdaltsev, we must take these statements very carefully, adding that the current situation depends mainly on the Armed Forces.

Juan Guaidó wrote in an article in The New York Times that he had clandestine meetings with members of the Armed Forces and security forces, noting that withdrawal of military support to Maduro is crucial to allow a change in government.”

“For me, it is difficult to believe that the opposition meets with [Nicolás] Maduro’s intelligence services. Such contacts can not occur, nor with the army,” said Suzdaltsev.

“If there had been meetings, there would have been results, of course in this case they would have informed us, so these statements are just pressure on the government,” he said.

“As long as the military and the security forces support Maduro, he will remain unshakable, but it is not known how long this can continue. So now the future of the government is in the hands of the military,” he concluded. </s> Guaidó says Maduro removal will be advantageous for Russia and China BUT they disagree

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan National Assembly President Juan Guaidó, a self-proclaimed interim president, told Reuters that the change of government will be advantageous to major trading partners – Moscow and Beijing.

According to Guaidó, President Nicolás Maduro does not protect the interests of Venezuela or foreign investment, and thus, a bad partner. In addition, the president of the Venezuelan Parliament has noted that he has tried to contact Russia and China.

“What most suits Russia and China is the country’s stability and a change of government,” he said. “Maduro does not protect Venezuela, he doesn’t protect anyone’s investments, and he is not a good deal for those countries.”

But Russia did not have and does not plan to have any contact and does not recognize the opposition’s presidential status, noting that Nicolás Maduro is the president who was elected by the people and that the president of a country can not be determined by other countries.

China also opposes foreign interference in Venezuela’s affairs. Beijing supports the government of Nicolás Maduro to maintain national sovereignty and stability and recognizes Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela, despite all the pressure he has suffered.

On 31 January, the European Parliament called on EU diplomat Federica Mogherini and the governments of the Member States to join in the recognition of the opposition leader.

On January 23, the head of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, declared himself interim president of the country during anti-government protests in the streets of Caracas.

Not only did the US and the European Union support Guaidó, but also a number of countries in Latin America, including Brazil, expressed support for Guaido and the Venezuelan opposition. Alongside Nicolás Maduro are several countries, including Russia and China, but some shock additions including NATO-members Greece and Turkey, and other international allies such as Iran and Syria. </s> CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — Opposition leader Juan Guaido has called on the international community to consider “all options” to resolve Venezuela’s crisis, a dramatic escalation in rhetoric that echoes comments from the Trump administration hinting…

CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) — Opposition leader Juan Guaido has called on the international community to consider “all options” to resolve Venezuela’s crisis, a dramatic escalation in rhetoric that echoes comments from the Trump administration hinting at potential U.S. military involvement.

Guaido’s comments late Saturday came after a tumultuous day that saw President Nicolas Maduro’s forces fire tear gas and buckshot on activists trying to deliver humanitarian aid in violent clashes that left two people dead and some 300 injured.

For weeks, the U.S. and regional allies had been amassing emergency food and medical kits on Venezuela’s borders in anticipation of carrying out a “humanitarian avalanche” by land and sea to undermine Maduro’s rule.

With activists failing to penetrate government blockades and deliver the aid, Guaido announced late Saturday that he would escalate his appeal to the international community — beginning with a meeting Monday in Colombia’s capital with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of an emergency summit of leaders of the so-called Lima Group to discuss Venezuela’s crisis.

He said he would urge the international community to keep “all options open” in the fight to restore Venezuela’s democracy, using identical language to that of President Donald Trump, who in his public statements has repeatedly refused to rule out force and reportedly even secretly pressed aides as early as 2017 about the possibility of a military incursion.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also stepped up the belligerent rhetoric, saying on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that Maduro’s “days are numbered.”

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who visited the border last week and has Trump’s ear on policy toward Venezuela, tweeted out pictures of anti-American strongmen including Panama’s Manuel Noriega, Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi and Romania’s Nicolae Ceausescu at the height of their power and then brutal downfall — the not so subtle suggestion being that Maduro himself could suffer a similar fate.

A close Guaido ally, Julio Borges, the exiled leader of congress who is Guaido’s ambassador to the Lima Group, was even more explicit in urging a military option. “We are going to demand an escalation of diplomatic pressure … and the use of force against Nicolas Maduro’s dictatorship,” he said Sunday.

It’s a prospect that analysts warn risks fracturing a hard-won coalition of Latin American nations who’ve come together to pressure Maduro’s socialist government. Most Latin American governments, even conservative ones like those in neighboring Colombia and Brazil, are on the record opposing a military solution and would face huge dissent should they back any military action led by the U.S., whose interventions in the region during the Cold War remain an open wound.

“These governments know they would face a huge tide of internal opinion greatly offended by a U.S.-led invasion for historical and political reasons,” said Ivan Briscoe, the Latin America director for the Crisis Group, a Belgium-based think tank.

It also could split what has until been bipartisan support for the Trump administration’s policy toward Venezuela.

Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, over the weekend warned about a “potential trap being set by Trump.”

“Cheering humanitarian convoys sounds like the right thing to do, but what if it’s not about the aid? What if the real agenda is laying a pretext for war?” Murphy said on Twitter.

At the same time, though polls say Venezuelans overwhelmingly want Maduro to resign, almost an equal number reject the possibility of a foreign invasion to resolve the political impasse.

Resting at the foot of the Simon Bolivar bridge as work crews in Colombia began removing debris left by the unrest, Claudia Aguilar said she would support a military invasion but worries it would lead to more bloodshed.

The 29-year-old pregnant mother of three said she crossed illegally into Colombia on Sunday to buy a bag of rice and pasta for her family after Maduro ordered a partial closure of the border two days earlier.

“We’re with fear, dear God, of what will happen,” she said standing near the dirt trail she took to sneak across the border. “More blood, more deaths. The president of Venezuela does whatever he wants.”

In addition to weakening multilateral pressure against Maduro, analysts say the opposition saber rattling also risks undermining Guaido’s goal of peeling off support from the military, the country’s crucial powerbroker.

The 35-year-old Guaido has won the backing of more than 50 governments around the world since declaring himself interim president at a rally in January, arguing that Maduro’s re-election last year was illegitimate because some popular opposition candidates were barred from running.

But he’s so far been unable to cause a major rift inside the military, despite repeated appeals and the offer of amnesty to those joining the opposition’s fight for power.

“How many of you national guardsmen have a sick mother? How many have kids in school without food,” he implored Saturday night, standing next to a warehouse where 600 tons of food and medicine have been stockpiled on the Colombian border. “You don’t owe any obedience to a sadist … who celebrates the denial of humanitarian aid the country needs.”

Maduro has deftly courted support from the military since becoming president in 2013, offering top commanders key posts in his cabinet, including the presidency of state-run oil giant PDVSA, the source of virtually all of Venezuela’s dollar earnings.

More than 100 members of the security forces, most of them lower-rank soldiers, deserted and took refuge inside Colombia during Saturday’s unrest, according to migration officials. But none of them was higher ranked than a National Guard major, and there’s been little suggestion any battalion or division commanders are willing to defect despite almost daily calls by Guaido and the U.S.

To be sure, there’s no indication the U.S. is planning a military invasion and Trump has made a habit of threatening friends and foes alike — China, North Korea and Canada among them — only to dial back the rhetoric down the road. Washington still has more diplomatic tools available, including extending oil sanctions to punish non-American entities that conduct business with Maduro’s government in much the way such sanctions strangled communist Cuba for decades.

Still, as early as 2017, Trump reportedly raised the possibility of a U.S. military incursion in Venezuela similar to the 1989 invasion that led to the ouster of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, both in an Oval Office meeting with then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other aides, as well as at a session with leaders of four Latin American allies on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, according to a senior administration official who has since left the White House.

In both cases Trump abandoned the war talk at the urging of his advisers and allies in the region. Prior to the current crisis, there was never any war planning by the military, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the private conversations.

Still, momentum toward a confrontation seems to be building as hopes for a quick crumbling of Maduro’s government fade.

“It acts like a magnet,” said Briscoe of the possibility of a U.S.-led intervention. “As Plan A and B fail, it’s where everyone seems to be going. But the further you move in that direction, you weaken the multilateral approach and reduce the possibility that large parts of the military will turn against Maduro.”

Associated Press writer Joshua Goodman reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and AP writer Christine Armario reported in Cucuta, Colombia.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> (CNN) Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó said Thursday he will return to his country by Monday, and that a dialogue with President Nicolas Maduro won't be possible without discussing elections.

Guaidó, who was in Brazil for a meeting with President Jair Bolsonaro, said he will return to Venezuela despite threats he and his family have received, including prison time.

The announcement came a day after Guaidó said he would exercise his duties as president as soon as he returns to Venezuela.

Before meeting with Bolsonaro on Thursday, Guaidó also met with European Union ambassadors to Brazil.

"We appreciate the firm international support to our path and the support for the humanitarian aid," said Guaidó.

Read More </s> WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump hosts his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque at the White House on Wednesday to discuss their campaign to pressure Venezuela's far left president, Nicolas Maduro, from power.

The Trump-Duque talks in the Oval Office, followed by lunch, will give the allies a chance to compare notes just as the standoff between Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido heats up over the arrival of mostly US aid shipments.

Washington has thrown its full weight behind Guaido, recognising him as interim president, demanding that Maduro step aside, imposing sanctions, and even threatening the "option" of military intervention.

Colombia plays a crucial role because it has taken in the lion's share of the more than two million Venezuelans fleeing chaos, poverty and political violence under Maduro.

Now, Colombia is the staging post for US and other foreign humanitarian aid that Maduro is refusing to allow in, saying it would be a precursor to US military action.

At a huge opposition rally on Tuesday, Guaido vowed "it's sure that the humanitarian aid will enter" on February 23. "We have almost 300,000 Venezuelans who will die if the aid doesn't enter."

Trump's hawkish national security advisor John Bolton on Wednesday tweeted that "Maduro would rather stand for tyranny than ... accept aid for the Venezuelan people."

Guaido has been recognized as interim president by 50 countries.

But Maduro, whose government has the financial and political backing of China and Russia, has so far resisted the intensifying US pressure, portraying himself in the mold of historic Latin American anti-imperialist leaders.

Moscow weighed in on Tuesday, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warning "against all interference in Venezuela's domestic affairs, including the use of force threatened by Washington."

Venezuela has the world's biggest oil reserves but its once-thriving economy has fallen into ruin under the long-running leftist government.

Venezuelans face shortages of even basic necessities such as food and medicine and some 2.3 million people have fled since 2015, their salaries and savings rendered worthless by hyperinflation.

Maduro, who gets crucial backing from the country's powerful armed forces, denies there is a humanitarian emergency and has branded the crisis a "political show" and pretext for a US-led invasion.

Now, the focus of the struggle between Maduro and Guaido has turned to the aid shipments. Tons of aid are piling up in Colombian collection centres at the border.

On Tuesday, Guaido insisted that the border be opened.

"Here is a direct order to the armed forces: allow in the humanitarian aid once and for all (and) end the repression," he said.

Guaido's team has also met with Brazilian officials to set up a second aid storage centre. The new right-wing government of President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, which took over in January after more than a decade of leftist rule there, has joined the coalition against Maduro. </s> Russia has sided with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in his stand-off with opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president late last month. Maduro retains control of state institutions including the military, but most Western countries, including the United States, have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's president.

Venezuela on Wednesday received a shipment of humanitarian aid sent from Russia, including medicine and medical equipment, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing a Russian diplomatic source.

Earlier this week, Maduro had said that Russia was scheduled to deliver 300 tons of humanitarian aid to the country.

"On Wednesday, 300 tons of Russian humanitarian aid will be legally delivered to the international airport of Caracas," Maduro was cited as saying at a meeting with scientists on Monday.

Venezuela had earlier this month blocked a bridge on its border with Colombia to stop trucks carrying U.S. humanitarian aid, including high-protein foods, from entering the country. Venezuelan officials had said that the aid was a U.S. attempt to put pressure on the Maduro regime.

On Monday, British billionaire Richard Branson announced in a video posted on YouTube that he was organizing a charity concert in Cúcuta, Colombia, near the Venezuelan-Colombian border, to raise funds for “much-needed medical help” for Venezuela.

Branson said that Guaidó had asked him to help organize the event, planned for Friday, and said it would include international and regional artists. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Latest on Venezuela's political crisis (all times local):

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has arrived back in Venezuela to renew his campaign to topple the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

Guaido landed at the country's main airport, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Caracas. He said in a tweet he successfully passed through immigration checks.

Several European ambassadors who support his campaign for a change of leadership in Venezuela were at the scene as he arrived Monday.

Dozens of countries have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader, arguing that last year's re-election of Maduro was invalid.

Guaido has called for nationwide demonstrations coinciding with his arrival. He'd ignored an official ban on travelling to go abroad.

Several hundred supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido have gathered in a Caracas plaza, heeding a call from the self-declared interim president to turn out for his expected return to Venezuela.

More demonstrators on Monday were walking toward the plaza in the Las Mercedes district of the Venezuelan capital. Some carried national flags.

The crowd initially appeared smaller than those of previous opposition rallies, which have drawn tens of thousands of people.

Guaido says the goal of his return is to intensify pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to resign so that a transitional government can take over and prepare Venezuela for free and fair elections. Maduro says he is the target of a U.S.-backed plot to overthrow him.

Guaido on Monday morning tweeted that he was on his way home, though he did not reveal his exact whereabouts.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido says he's his way home.

Guaido tweeted Monday that he's heading back to Venezuela, though details about his exact whereabouts remained a mystery ahead of planned anti-government protests.

The leader of the National Assembly has declared himself interim president of Venezuela. He says the goal of his return is to intensify internal pressure on the government of President Nicolas Maduro. In the last week, Guaido visited several Latin American countries that support his campaign against Maduro, who was re-elected last year in a vote that the opposition and dozens of foreign nations say was invalid. </s> Guaido, the man who need the US to be president

US puppet Juan Guaidó can face up to 30 years in prison for betraying Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela – Opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who has declared himself interim president of Venezuela with the support of the United States, may face up to 30 years in prison for violating a travel ban.

Venezuelan Supreme Court Justice Juan Carlos Valdez said on Tuesday that Guaido’s visit to Colombia on February 22 violated the travel ban imposed by the Venezuelan judiciary.

“He is a person who hides from justice, what happens to the fugitives who are returning to the country and are found by the authorities? They must be captured and sent to prison,” Valdez said, adding that “he may face up to 30 years in prison.”

State prosecutors are currently examining Guiadó’s conduct regarding possible crimes, the judge added.

The opposition leader traveled to Colombia on Friday, allegedly to lead a “human wave” across the border and force border guards and military personnel to allow “humanitarian aid” provided by the United States. However, as soon as the aid did not enter, Guaidó was not seen anywhere, while his followers became involved in clashes with the security forces.

Later, the self-proclaimed president traveled to the Colombian capital of Bogota, where he participated in the Lima Group’s Monday meeting, supporting the US attempt to force re-elected Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to resign.

During the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Venezuela, US special envoy Elliott Abrams announced that more sanctions will be applied against Caracas later this week.

“We have said that sanctions will continue, we announced sanctions yesterday,” Abrams said. “There will be more, there will be more this week, there will be more next week. We’ll continue to impose sanctions on high-ranking members of the regime and people who handle their financial affairs.”

Guaidó told Colombian broadcaster NTN24 that he intends to return to Venezuela despite the risk of being arrested. </s> (CNN) Venezuela's self-declared interim president Juan Guaido says he will exercise his "duties as president" as soon as he returns to Venezuela from Colombia where he met Monday with US Vice President Mike Pence.

In a message posted to Twitter, Guaido said he will provide "an audio with the next instructions."

"I ask you to massively spread our message," he wrote on Twitter. "Nothing will stop us."

Guaido, the head of Venezuela's opposition-led legislature, declared himself acting president of Venezuela in January and is battling President Nicolas Maduro for control of the country.

Guaido met with Pence and Colombian President Ivan Duque this week in Bogota, Colombia, where a meeting of the Lima Group -- a diplomatic body created to help mitigate the Venezuelan crisis -- was taking place.

The meeting followed a weekend of violent clashes in Venezuela, where the military has blocked aid convoys from entering the country.

Guaido has called for other nations to send aid to Venezuela in response to worsening food and medicine shortages. But Maduro -- who won re-election in a widely-criticized vote last year -- denies that a humanitarian crisis exists in the country and suggests that aid efforts are part of a US plot to orchestrate a coup.

Guaido told CNN he believes there's a chance he could be arrested upon his return.

"The exercise of politics in Venezuela is criminalized, not only towards me," he said. "Today there are 1,000 political prisoners in Venezuela, there are political assassinations."

But an attack on him, Guaido said, could backfire for the current administration.

"Venezuela is mobilized towards change and arresting someone (does) not calm the protest. On the contrary, it speeds it up and makes it grow."

A weekend of violent clashes

Nearly 300 people were injured and 37 hospitalized, as military members fired tear gas and sprayed rubber bullets into a crowd of protesters at Venezuela's border with Colombia over the weekend.

National Assembly Representative and Guaido supporter Adriana Pichardo told CNN that at least five people were also killed in clashes with Venezuelan security forces.

CNN could not independently confirm the number of fatalities, but Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said there were four deaths and 300 injuries Friday and Saturday.

Pence on Monday said the US will impose additional sanctions on Venezuelan leaders and pledged more aid to the region as he called on nations to do more to confront Maduro's government.

Following the Lima Group meeting Monday, Duque said the way to deal with the Venezuela crisis is through diplomacy -- not war. In a tweet Tuesday, he said the meeting, showed "an emphasis on diplomacy and no warmongering speech is being made."

"Under no circumstances (has) the term military force been used," he said. "This dispels voices which point out that what is sought are winds of war."

US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said Tuesday, following the UN Security Council meeting, that he believes there will soon be a UN resolution regarding Venezuela.

"I think we will have a resolution this week, which will certainly call for the admission of humanitarian aid into Venezuela and will comment on the events of the last few days," he said.

He also said US sanctions against officials of the Maduro regime will continue.

"We announced some sanctions yesterday. There will be more," Abrams said. "There will be more this week, there will be more next week. We will continue to impose sanctions on high-ranking members of the regime and people who handle their financial affairs."

During a meeting with Venezuelan migrant families in Bogota, Pence said the US will continue to provide assistance to the families and will stand with Guaido.

"We are with you, and we will stay with you until your libertad is restored," he said, according to remarks provided by the White House. "Have faith that, under President Donald Trump's leadership, the United States of America and freedom-loving nations around the world will stand with you."

Venezuelan, Russian UN ambassadors denounce US

Maduro's regime has already denounced the US for its delivery of aid and support of Guaido. Last week, Maduro announced he was cutting all ties with Colombia and ordered all ambassadors to leave the country, and threatened the US.

Jorge Arreaza, Minister of the People's Power for Foreign Affairs in Venezuela called the violence on the border a failed "coup" and denounced the US government for "organizing, financing, and leading this clear aggression against Venezuela."

He said the US intervention is an overreach and said solutions to the problems the country is facing should come from within. He also accused Trump of hypocrisy, asking how the US would respond if other countries tried to force aid through the southern US border.

"Mr. Trump declared a humanitarian crisis in the south of the United States because he wants to build a racist wall," Arreaza said. "So what would happen if Cuba, Venezuela, or Nicaragua were to come up with a convoy to try to force through the southern border to get to the population of the south of the United States for this humanitarian emergency, saying that was a humanitarian assistance effort?"

"What would happen if they were to try to do that? Ask yourself that question. There is a lot of hypocrisy afoot here," Arreaza said.

Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said the attempted aid delivery over the weekend was like an "illegal state border crossing" that amounted to a "forced feeding."

"What took place on Saturday was reminiscent not of assistance, but what is called forced feeding in the United States," he said. "For the uninitiate, this is a form of torture, apparently having trained on their detainees on Guantanamo, the US authorities now decided to force feed a whole country."
Juan Guaidó announces that he will exercise his "duties as president" when he returns to Venezuela from Colombia. Guaidó also stated that he did not see any signs of "broad support" from Russia towards Nicolás Maduro.