(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> 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> Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó has reportedly been detained by the country's intelligence agents, two days after he was declared the interim President of Venezuela by the disempowered National Assembly.

"Alert the world and the country that today # 13Ene a SEBIN command intercepted the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela @jguaido and we do not know his whereabouts," a message on Guaidó's official Twitter account reads.

Later in the day, Organization of American States (OAS) President Luis Almagro accused Venezuelan authorities of kidnapping Guaido.

"[We] totally condemn and reject the kidnapping of Venezuelan interim president Juan Guaido. The international community must stop the crimes of [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro and his henchmen," Almagro tweeted.

Maduro has faced criticism from a number of states after his re-election in May, with some countries claiming that the vote was illegitimate, something vehemently denied by Caracas.

Earlier in January, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry said following the meeting of the Lima Group foreign ministers that the union did not recognize the legitimacy of Maduro's new presidential term that will begin on January 10 and urged him to call a new presidential election. </s> BRASILIA (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido will visit Brazil on Thursday and meet with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and other government officials, his envoy in Brasilia, Maria Teresa Belandria, said by telephone on Wednesday.

His visit to Brasilia was first reported by Venezuela’s El Nacional newspaper, which said Guaidó will visit several Latin American nations to discuss the crisis in his country. Brazil and dozens of other countries have recognized him as the interim president of Venezuela, ratcheting up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro. </s> France, Germany and Spain on Saturday urged Venezuela to call elections in the next eight days, warning they would otherwise recognize the country's parliamentary chief, Juan Guaidó, as interim president.

"The Venezuelan people must be able to freely decide their future," French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted Saturday. "Without elections announced within 8 days, we will be ready to recognize Juan Guaidó as the 'president in charge' of Venezuela to start a political process. We are working on this between European partners."

The German government's deputy spokesperson, Martina Fietz, put out a similar statement moments later, adding that Berlin was also "working closely European partners." Speaking in a televised address, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez issued the same deadline for Caracas to hold "fair, free and transparent elections."

Venezuela's parliamentary leader declared himself interim president on Wednesday, after tens of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets to express their anger over spiraling inflation, a persistent shortage of basic goods and electoral fraud. They also demanded the resignation of Nicolás Maduro, who was inaugurated for a second term as president on January 10. Opposition leader Guaidó claims the strongman's reelection was rigged.

While the United States and other countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Canada were quick to recognize the 35-year-old parliamentary leader, the European Union — which takes its foreign policy decisions by unanimity — did not offer its endorsement and remains divided on the issue.

Sánchez's support for Guaidó marks a stark change in position for Spain, which earlier this week said it was opposed to recognizing the parliamentary assembly president, and instead sought to promote negotiations between the opposition and Maduro's government to avoid the risk of a civil war, according to EU diplomats.

Madrid on Friday supported a motion in the European Council's Political and Security Committee to recognize Guaidó as president of Venezuela "in order to fulfil the task of immediately calling elections in Venezuela," Sánchez said in his address.

This call to support Guaidó was "shared by the immense majority" but not all EU countries, he added.

Maduro, who has already asked U.S. diplomats to leave the country, on Friday threatened to expel Spanish diplomats as well.

"Let them go quickly, they have no lessons to give us, their embassy and their staff. We would be happier without them," Maduro told reporters in Caracas. </s> ASUNCION (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, visiting Paraguay on Friday to raise support for a change of government in his country, said that 600 members of the military had abandoned the government of President Nicolas Maduro in recent days.

Guaido, head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, has invoked constitutional provisions to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Maduro’s re-election last year was fraudulent. Guaido has since been recognised by most Western nations as the rightful leader of Venezuela.

However, Maduro still retains the loyalty of the bulk of Venezuela’s armed forces and controls state institutions.

“In the next few hours we will announce new protest marches,” Guaido said in Asuncion at a news conference, after meeting with Paraguayan leader Mario Abdo, who received the opposition figure as a head of state.

“We have spoken clearly to the Armed Forces of Venezuela. They have seen more than 600 officers in recent days switch to side with the constitution,” he added. “There is a very clear process of transition to democracy.”

His press team said he was scheduled to go to Argentina later on Friday to meet with President Mauricio Macri, a strong critic of Maduro. Argentina’s foreign ministry confirmed the two would meet in Buenos Aires and hold a news conference.

Guaido has been travelling around the region, seeking to drum up support. He has visited Brazil and Colombia this week, but said he would return to Caracas by Monday, where he faces possible arrest for disobeying a Supreme Court order that he should not leave the country pending an investigation.

The United States, which backs Guaido, will continue to take “appropriate actions” against the government of Maduro, including restricting travel visas for dozens of his associates, U.S. special envoy Elliott Abrams said on Friday. </s> ASUNCION (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, visiting Paraguay on Friday to raise support for a change of government in his country, said that 600 members of the military had abandoned the government of President Nicolas Maduro in recent days.

Guaido, head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, has invoked constitutional provisions to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Maduro’s re-election last year was fraudulent. Guaido has since been recognized by most Western nations as the rightful leader of Venezuela.

However, Maduro still retains the loyalty of the bulk of Venezuela’s armed forces and controls state institutions.

“In the next few hours we will announce new protest marches,” Guaido said in Asuncion at a news conference, after meeting with Paraguayan leader Mario Abdo, who received the opposition figure as a head of state.

“We have spoken clearly to the Armed Forces of Venezuela. They have seen more than 600 officers in recent days switch to side with the constitution,” he added. “There is a very clear process of transition to democracy.”

His press team said he was scheduled to go to Argentina later on Friday to meet with President Mauricio Macri, a strong critic of Maduro. Argentina’s foreign ministry confirmed the two would meet in Buenos Aires and hold a news conference.

Guaido has been traveling around the region, seeking to drum up support. He has visited Brazil and Colombia this week, but said he would return to Caracas by Monday, where he faces possible arrest for disobeying a Supreme Court order that he should not leave the country pending an investigation.

The United States, which backs Guaido, will continue to take “appropriate actions” against the government of Maduro, including restricting travel visas for dozens of his associates, U.S. special envoy Elliott Abrams said on Friday. </s> OSLO: The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition are continuing talks in Barbados to try to find ways to resolve the Latin American country's political crisis, the Foreign Ministry of mediator Norway said on Friday (Aug 2).

Friday's statement, the first in three weeks, came a day after US President Donald Trump said he was considering a quarantine or blockade of Venezuela and ahead of a summit in Peru on the Venezuelan crisis, which US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will attend.

"Τhe representatives of the main political actors in Venezuela are continuing the negotiations. ... Τhe parties have reiterated their willingness to advance in the search for an agreed-upon and constitutional solution," Norway's Foreign Ministry said.

The opposition's main negotiator, Stalin Gonzalez, thanked the government of Norway in a tweet shortly after the ministry's statement, ratifying his party's proposal for a constitutional solution.

Juan Guaido, leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, invoked the constitution in January to assume a rival interim presidency after declaring Maduro's 2018 re-election a fraud. Maduro calls Guaido a puppet of the United States and blames Venezuela's severe economic problems on US sanctions meant to force him from office. </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.
Venezuelan opposition leader and interim president Juan Guaidó said Thursday he will return to his country by Monday, and that a dialogue with President Nicolás Maduro won't be possible without discussing elections.