Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó says that the US has been "decisive" in its support for him

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó has said he is considering asking the US to launch a military intervention in the embattled country.

Speaking to the BBC's Nick Bryant, he said he would "evaluate all options" to oust President Nicolás Maduro.

Last week he launched a failed attempt to spark a military rebellion and force Mr Maduro out of power.

The president responded by delivering an address from an army base in Caracas, flanked by soldiers.

Mr Guaidó declared himself Venezuela's interim leader in January. As the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, he invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Mr Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

But Mr Maduro - who is backed by Russia, China and the leaders of Venezuela's military - has refused to cede power.

Mr Guaidó has the support of more than 50 countries, including the US, UK and most Latin American nations - and he has told the BBC that US support for him has been "decisive".

"I think President [Donald] Trump's position is very firm, which we appreciate, as does the entire world," he said.

Asked whether he would like Mr Trump and the US military to intervene, he responded it is "responsible to evaluate" the possibility of international intervention, adding: "I, as the president in charge of the national parliament, will evaluate all options if necessary."

What has the US said?

Mr Trump told reporters on Friday that he wasn't looking to get the US military involved in Venezuela.

He said that in a call, Russian president Vladimir Putin had assured him that "he is not looking to get involved in Venezuela other than he'd like to see something positive happen for Venezuela", before adding: "And I feel the same way."

But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had much stronger words for Russia on Sunday, telling the US broadcaster ABC that "the Russians must get out".

"It's very clear, we want the Russians out, we want the Iranians out, we want the Cubans out," he said.

Has Guaidó been defeated?

In response to the clashes this week, Mr Maduro appeared on Friday flanked by soldiers at an army base in Caracas, calling on the armed forces to defeat "any coup plotter".

"No one dare touch our sacred ground or bring war to Venezuela," he added, in a show of defiance that followed days of clashes. Four people died in the violence, including two teenagers.

Image copyright EPA Image caption The armed forces did not appear to heed Mr Guaidó's call to defect

But Mr Guaidó denies that he has been defeated, telling the BBC that President Maduro "has been losing again and again".

"I think the only one who really hurts himself is Maduro," he said. "He has been losing again and again. He is increasingly weak, increasingly alone, and has no international support. On the contrary, we gain acceptance, support and future options."

He also claims that it is "clearly visible that the armed forces no longer support Maduro".

How did the violence unfold?

On Wednesday, both pro- and anti-government supporters held demonstrations in Caracas which were initially peaceful.

There were reports of gunfire in the city, and a local NGO, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, said Jurubith Rausseo, 27, had been shot dead during a rally in the opposition stronghold of Altamira.

At least 46 people were injured in clashes between opposition supporters and the security forces.

On Tuesday, Mr Guaidó declared what he called the "final phase" of the operation to topple Mr Maduro. He posted a video of him with a number of men in uniform and said he had the support of "brave soldiers" in Caracas.

He urged Venezuelans to join them on the streets, and appeared alongside another opposition leader, Leopoldo López, who had been under house arrest after being found guilty of inciting violence during protests in 2014.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Why Venezuela matters to the US... and vice versa

Spain's government later said that Mr López and his family had sought safety in their embassy, but said the opposition figure had not claimed political asylum.

An arrest warrant for violating the house arrest order was issued for Mr López, according to a statement on the Supreme Court's website. The order stated that Mr López should continue to serve the rest of his 13-year sentence in prison.

Spain said it had no intention of handing over Mr López to the Venezuelan authorities. </s> Canada says it is recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela.

Two officials familiar with the matter confirm the Canadian position, but spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The move comes shortly after the US also issued recognition of Guaido as president and called for President Nicolas Maduro to step down.

Recognition of the opposition leader by the US and Canada increases international pressure on Maduro and could result in severe economic consequences for his government. </s> Guaido, the man who need the US to be president

CARACAS – Carlos Vecchio, the representative of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, reported that he officially requested support for the US Southern Command to advance strategic and operational planning.

“I write at the direction of the Interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaido. We are grateful to the United States for its friendship, resolve and readiness to support our continued efforts to place Venezualan people first and look forward to fruitful planning and coordinaton. According, I respectfully request a meeting at United States Southern Command with appropriate members of the Guaido Administration,” Carlos Vecchio said on behalf of Juan Guaidó as Chargé d’Affaires of Venezuela in the USA.

He also published his letter to the head of the US Southern Command, Admiral Craig Falle, where he writes that the interim government thanks and receives US support and confirms our willingness to begin talks regarding the cooperation that had been offered by his command.

In addition, Vecchio called for a meeting between the US Southern Command and the appropriate members of President Guaido’s interim government.

The letter was sent on May 11. On the same day Guaidó stated that he instructed “our representative Carlos Vecchio to meet with the Southern Command to establish direct relations to achieve cooperation.”

“We instruct our representative Carlos Vecchio to meet with the Southern Command to establish direct relations to achieve cooperation,” said Guaidó.

Venezuela has dealt with a serious political crisis, with opposition leader Juan Guaidó proclaiming himself interim president of the country on January 23.

The US and several countries in Europe and Latin America, including Brazil, have recognized Guaidó as interim president of the country.

Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Turkey, Mexico, Iran and many other countries expressed their support for Maduro as the legitimate president and demanded that other countries respect the principle of non-interference in Venezuelan internal affairs.

However, the Bolivarian defense forces have pledged their loyalty to Maduro and are fully prepared to defend the country from a US military invasion. </s> Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday that he’s breaking diplomatic relations with the United States after the Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president.

Reuters reports that speaking to supporters outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, socialist leader Maduro said he would give U.S. diplomatic personnel 72 hours to leave Venezuela.

Canada has also joined the U.S. in recognizing Guaido as interim president, after Trump invited allies to do the same.

Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, is currently seeing protests to end the socialist regime of Maduro. </s> Venezuela's opposition-controlled legislature is calling for a mass protest against President Nicolas Maduro in an attempt to remove the Marxist leader from the presidency. Maduro was sworn in for a second six-year term on January 10, even though his presidency has been declared null and void by 13 of Venezuela’s neighbors. Brazil’s government issued a statement on January 12 saying it recognized Juan Guaido, the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, as the country’s rightful president and welcomed Guaido’s readiness to “constitutionally assume the Venezuelan presidency.”

Guaido, speaking to a crowd of around 1,000 opposition supporters in Caracas on January 11, said that the nation’s constitution gives the legislature the right to assume transitional power after declaring Maduro a “usurper,” but that removing Maduro would need military backing, and people taking to the streets to demand change.

“Is it enough to lean on the constitution in a dictatorship? No. It needs to be the people, the military, and the international community that lead us to take over,” said Guaido.

The New York Times reported on January 13 that Guaido was briefly arrested two days after delivering his speech to supporters. A video recorded by a motorist appeared to show masked, heavily armed agents from the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service pulling Guaido from his vehicle and pushing him into a van and then driving away.

However, Guaido was released shortly afterward, according to Edward Rodriguez, the head of communications for the National Assembly.

Jorge Rodriguez, the Venezuelan communications minister, said that Guaido’s arrest was “arbitrary” and was not been ordered by the government. “We have learned that there has been an irregular situation where a group of officials, acting unilaterally, initiated an irregular procedure against congressman Juan Guaido,” said the minister, adding that the matter had been “solved.”

AFP reported that U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said that the Trump administration “resolutely supports the Venezuelan National Assembly, the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people,” and especially supports “the courageous decision” by Guaido to “declare that Maduro does not legitimately hold the country's presidency.”

In Washington, Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almagro recognized Guaido as head of state, tweeting: “We welcome the assumption of @jguaido as interim President of Venezuela.”

Venezuela’s Crude Oil Exports to U.S. Declining Sharply </s> 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> Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is voicing his support for Juan Guaidó, the head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, as interim president of the South American country.

“For years now, we’ve witnessed the breakdown of democracy in Venezuela and a dictatorship willing to use force, fear, and coercion to retain power,” said Trudeau on Monday about Nicolás Maduro, the leader who has refused to hand over power to Guaidó, according to the CBC.

“The violation of human rights and the complete disregard for the rule of law shown by the regime has been both inexcusable and unacceptable,” Trudeau continued.

Trudeau also announced that Canada would send $53 million (US$40 million) to help the nearly three million refugees that have fled Venezuela among the country’s ongoing food shortage.

The prime minister was addressing representatives of the Lima Group, which includes Canada and a number of Latin American nations, and is supported by the United States and other countries. The representatives met Monday in Ottawa for talks regarding how to support Guaidó as Venezuela’s nearly two-week-long power struggle continues.

Guaidó called for Maduro’s resignation towards the end of January amid public protests, eventually naming himself interim leader until legal elections could be held. The U.S., Germany, U.K., France, and other western nations have recognized Guaidó’s leadership. Mexico, although a member of the Lima Group, did not attend the Ottawa meeting and has not supported Guaidó.

Maduro, who was elected for a second term in what much of the world viewed as rigged elections, has refused to step down, prompting the U.S. to implement oil sanctions and threaten military action. </s> WASHINGTON: The US, Canada and several major South American nations recognised the head of Venezuela's opposition-controlled legislature as the country's interim leader on Wednesday (Jan 23), leaving President Nicolas Maduro increasingly isolated.



Major regional players Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Peru all gave their backing to Juan Guaido's self-proclamation as Venezuela's acting president, which he made in front of crowd of tens of thousands of supporters in Caracas.

Mexico, however, stood apart, saying it recognises "the authorities elected in accordance with the Venezuelan constitution," seen as a lukewarm nod to Maduro.

The avalanche of support for Guaido dramatically raised the stakes in Venezuela, an oil-rich nation has become deeply impoverished under Maduro.

Maduro has clung to power through the support of the Venezuelan military, and he is an ally of Russia, which last month sent two nuclear-capable bombers to the country to participate in a military drill.

The US said on Wednesday it stood ready to us "all options" if Maduro tries to quash the opposition, in what was an implied threat of military force.

US President Donald Trump said in Guaido's National Assembly was "the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people."

Maduro responded by saying he was cutting off diplomatic ties with the United States, as his riot police clashed with opposition supporters in Caracas.

"Out! Leave Venezuela. Here we have dignity, damn it," Maduro said, giving US diplomats 72 hours to depart.

Tweeting from the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where he and other leaders were attending the World Economic Forum, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said: "Brazil recognises Mr Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president."

He added that "Brazil will support politically and economically the process of transition so that democracy and social peace return to Venezuela."

Bolsonaro, a far-right former paratrooper who has set about forging close ties with Trump's administration since taking power at the beginning of January, has repeatedly vowed to challenge Maduro in any way he can.

He initially said he was open to discussing Brazil hosting a US military base, before changing his mind when the idea sparked objections from his military brass.

Colombian President Ivan Duque, another US ally also at Davos, told reporters his country was behind Guaido and will "accompany this process of transition to democracy so that the Venezuelan people free themselves of their dictatorship."

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland expressed her country's "full support" for Guaido, adding: "It's an important day for Venezuela and I'm grateful for the solidarity of the Lima Group in speaking out on this."

The Lima Group, which is made up of 14 countries in the Americas, has taken an increasingly strident stance against Maduro, whom it sees as anti-democratic.

The United States is not a member but supports the group. </s> From the very beginning of the political crisis in Venezuela, the United States made it clear it was supporting the head of the opposition-led National Assembly, Juan Guaido, who declared himself the Latin American country's interim president. Since then, Washington has been pressuring Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's incumbent president, to resign.

US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams has suggested that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro should leave the country, and such "friends" as Cuba or Russia would gladly accept him.

"I think it is better for the transition to democracy in Venezuela that he be outside the country. And there are a number of countries that I think would be willing to accept him. He's got friends in places like Cuba and Russia. And there are some other countries, actually, that have come to us privately and said they'd be willing to take members of the current illegitimate regime if it would help the transition", he said, refusing to name those countries.

Abrams reiterated the Trump administration's viewpoint, insisting that Maduro should step aside in favour of self-proclaimed interim president and opposition leader Juan Guaido:

"The end game for him should be to leave power, and the sooner the better. Because his own situation is only going to decline the longer he clings to power and the more misery there is in Venezuela".

Slightly over a week ago, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton took to Twitter to express hope that Maduro and his senior aides would retire and live on a "nice beach somewhere far from Venezuela":

On 7 February, Nicolas Maduro appeared at Plaza Bolivar in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas during a campaign to collect signatures against a US intervention.

The move came just days after Trump stated that a military intervention in Venezuela was "an option", adding that he had turned down Maduro's request for a meeting several months ago.

Maduro has accused the Trump administration of attempting to sabotage his government and orchestrating a coup d'etat, subsequently severing diplomatic relations with the United States.

Washington, on the other hand, has only ramped up its pressure on the Maduro government, having imposed sanctions against the country's state-run oil and gas giant PDVSA, and passing control over some frozen assets held by US-insured banks to Guaido.

While Maduro slammed the restrictions as illegal, the Venezuelan Supreme Court hit back by blocking Guaido's bank accounts and financial transactions within the country's jurisdiction, and imposed a travel ban on him until a probe into his activities is completed.

The United States, Canada, Israel, a handful of European countries and a number of South American nations have recognised Guaido as Venezuela's interim president, while Russia, Cuba, China, Iran, Turkey and several other nations have backed Maduro as the legitimately elected head of state.
Venezuela's interim President Juan Guaidó says he will not rule out seeking the help of the United States military to remove Nicolás Maduro from power.