Juan Guaido, head of Venezuela's opposition-run congress, speaks to supporters at a rally where he declared himself interim president until new elections can be called in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. The opposition rally was called to demand President Nicolas Maduro's resignation. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A 35-year-old opposition leader who up until two weeks ago was a complete unknown to the vast majority of Venezuelans has declared himself the embattled nation's interim president as leader Nicolas Maduro clings to power. Here's a look at what happened in Venezuela on Wednesday:

After years of infighting, Venezuela's opposition united behind Juan Guaido earlier this month and began calling for mass protests to be held Wednesday demanding President Nicolas Maduro give up power after being sworn in for a contested second term Jan. 10.

Though the opposition has struggled to motivate tired and skeptical Venezuelans since months of unrest in 2017 resulted in 120 dead, Guaido managed to strike a nerve by laying out in simple terms a plan of action for a new government.

He argued to Venezuelans that as president of the National Assembly, he has the authority under the constitution to step in when the chief executive office is vacated. He contends Maduro's re-election last May was fraudulent and should not be recognized.

On Wednesday, tens of thousands heeded the call to take to the streets across Venezuela, a turnout fed by widespread anger over Venezuela's runaway inflation and shortages of food and medicine.

Guaido capped the protest with a speech before a swarm of supporters in which he took a symbolic oath swearing himself in as interim president, saying he was upholding the constitution by assuming the top post.

Dressed in jeans and a blue blazer, the young leader told a jubilant crowd that he would work to restore democracy and continue fighting until all Venezuelans have bread on the table, electricity at home and medicine in their hospitals.

The Trump administration quickly responded by recognizing Guaido as president. Over a dozen nations in the region followed suit.

Only a handful of countries that have long backed Maduro said they would continue to back the socialist leader as president.

Guaido has already begun taking action as if he is president. However, neither the military nor any branch of government aside from the opposition-controlled legislature have signaled that they will recognize him as leader.

The socialist leader who took the helm of Venezuela's presidency following the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013 announced that he was severing diplomatic relations with the United States in response to its recognition of Guaido.

In a speech from a balcony of the presidential palace, Maduro stood by his position that he was legitimately elected and gave U.S. diplomats 72 hours to leave the nation. Socialist party heavyweight Diosdado Cabello and other high-ranking allies pledged to stand behind Maduro and denounced Guaido.

Adding to the growing confrontation, the U.S. government announced Wednesday night that it will ignore Maduro's order and keep its diplomats in Caracas. </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> 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> Venezuelan army will not accept an imposed president of the republic, the nation's defense minister said Wednesday, after an opposition leader declared himself as interim president.

"Despair and intolerance threaten the peace of the Nation. The soldiers of the homeland do not accept a president imposed in the shadow of obscure interests or self-proclaimed outside the law," Vladimir Padrino Lopez said in a statement on Twitter before demonstrations Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump also recognized the Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the interim president of the country, marking the most significant escalation in the ongoing feud between Washington and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.

Guaido is the president of Venezuela's National Assembly, which Maduro stripped of its power and refuses to recognize amid continued international recognition.

The Bolivarian National Armed Forces, or FANB, defends the Venezuela's Constitution "and is the guarantor of national sovereignty," Lopez wrote.

Maduro has repeatedly lashed out at the U.S., saying Washington is waging an economic war against him and his government amid a sweeping sanctions campaign.

Venezuela has been rocked by protests since Jan. 10 when Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition.

This article has been adapted from its original source. </s> Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president on Wednesday, winning over the backing of the Washington and many Latin American nations and prompting socialist Nicolas Maduro to break relations with the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump formally recognized Guaido shortly after his announcement and praised his plan to hold elections. That was swiftly followed by similar statements from Canada and a slew of right-leaning Latin American governments, including Venezuela's neighbors Brazil and Colombia.

At a rally that brought hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans into the east of Caracas, Guaido said Maduro had usurped power and promised to create a transitional government that would help the country escape its hyperinflationary economic collapse.

"I swear to assume all the powers of the presidency to secure an end to the usurpation," 35-year old Guaido, the head of the opposition-run congress, told an exuberant crowd.

Guaido's declaration takes Venezuela into uncharted territory, with the possibility of the opposition now running a parallel government recognized abroad as legitimate but without control over state functions.

In a televised broadcast from the presidential palace, Maduro accused the opposition of seeking to stage a coup with the support of the United States, which he said was seeking to govern Venezuela from Washington.

"We've had enough interventionism, here we have dignity, damn it! Here is a people willing to defend this land," said Maduro, flanked by top Socialist Party leaders, although the defense minister and members of the military high command were absent.

Any change of government will rest on a shift in allegiance within the armed forces. So far, they have stood by Maduro through two waves of street protests and a steady dismantling of democratic institutions.

The office of Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino did not answer a phone call seeking comment. </s> MADRID – Spain, Britain, Germany, Austria, Sweden and Denmark officially recognized Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela on Monday, while France said the opposition leader had the right to organize an election in the face of the socialist government’s refusal to call new elections.

“The Government of Spain announces that it officially recognizes Juan Guaidó as president in charge of Venezuela,” Spanish President Pedro Sánchez said in a statement read before the media.

To which followed a tweet from the British Foreign Minister, Jeremy Hunt: “Nicolás Maduro has not called presidential elections within the 8-day limit that we have established (…) So the United Kingdom, together with the European allies, now recognizes @jguaido as interim constitutional president. ”

The coordinated movement of European countries comes after the expiration of eight days that the European Union gave Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to call a new presidential election.

The Venezuelan leader, accused of running the OPEC nation as a dictatorship and ruining his economy, has said Europe’s ruling elite is sycophantic and is following the agenda of US President Donald Trump.

Guaidó, who heads the National Assembly controlled by the opposition, proclaimed himself president last month provoking a division among the world powers.

Trump recognized it immediately and countries of the European Union backed Guaidó, but some are nervous about the precedent that someone feels self-proclaimed.

Russia and China, which have invested billions of dollars in Venezuela, are supporting Maduro. Moscow accused the EU countries of meddling in Venezuela’s affairs.

The Venezuelan government said it would “fully review” its relations with the European governments who had recognised Mr. Guaidó.

A foreign ministry statement said those governments were “officially submitting to the United States administration’s strategy to overthrow the legitimate government of President Nicolas Maduro”.

On Sunday Mr. Maduro dismissed calls for a new presidential vote, saying he would not accept “ultimatums”. He has denounced Mr. Guaidó’s move as a coup.

As head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Mr. Guaidó says the constitution allows him to assume power temporarily when the president is deemed illegitimate.

Meanwhile, the Lima Group of Latin American countries and Canada called Monday for a peaceful change in government in Venezuela, without military intervention.

Eleven of the group’s 14 members said in a joint statement after meeting in Ottawa that they “reiterate their support for a process of peaceful transition through political and diplomatic means without the use of force.”

They also urged Venezuela’s military to support opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president and “not to impede the entry and transit of humanitarian assistance to Venezuelans.”

Guaido’s “legitimate government of Venezuela” was also welcomed into the Lima Group.

The bulk of the funds are to go to “trusted partners” and neighboring countries to help them support three million refugees that have fled Venezuela, he said.

Mr. Maduro, who took office in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chavez, has been condemned for alleged human rights abuses and for his handling of the economy.

The annual inflation rate reached 1,300,000% in the 12 months to November 2018, according to a study by the National Assembly.

According to United Nations figures, three million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014 when the economic crisis started to bite. </s> Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido seen in Caracas, Venezuela on January 25, 2019. © Reuters / Carlos Barria

Warnings from Germany, France and Spain to recognize the self-proclaimed president of Venezuela unless new elections are held came at the same time and were even similarly worded, Russia’s FM spokesperson noted.

“The statements are not simply identical but they are even made simultaneously,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, wrote on Facebook.

Earlier on Saturday, Paris, Berlin and Madrid announced their readiness to recognize the self-proclaimed “interim president” of Venezuela, Juan Guaido, unless the country holds snap presidential elections within eight days.

The messages appeared to be well-coordinated indeed.

“The government of Spain gives Nicolas Maduro eight days to call free, transparent and democratic elections,” Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in statement. “If that doesn’t happen, Spain will recognize Juan Guaido as interim president in charge of calling these elections.”

The ultimatum was almost instantly echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who took to Twitter issuing a similar threat in French and Spanish – to get the message through, apparently.

“The Venezuelan people must be able to freely decide their future. Without elections announced in 8 days, we could recognize [Guaido] as ‘interim president’ of Venezuela to launch this political process,” Macron said, adding that he was working with “European partners.”

Exactly the same message was posted on Twitter by the deputy spokeswoman of the German government. Later in the day, the European chorus was joined by the UK, with its Foreign Ministry voicing the ultimatum again.

ALSO ON RT.COM‘Guido’? Pompeo mangles name of US-backed Venezuelan ‘president’Guaido proclaimed himself “interim president” of Venezuela on Wednesday, swiftly receiving strong support from abroad. The US was the first to recognize the unelected “president,” and over a dozen countries – including almost all the South American states – have followed suit.

Russia, China, Turkey, Cuba and other states, however, vowed support to the elected president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, condemning the externally-fueled coup attempt. Maduro, on his part, did not take Washington’s actions lightly, and severed diplomatic ties with the US.

Over the past few days, the country has seen massive anti-government protests, as well as counter-protests staged by supporters of the legitimate authorities.

Venezuelan military and state officials have also vowed their support to the president. On Friday, Maduro announced massive military drills to be held in early February, which are supposed to warn any potential adversaries from staging open aggression against the country.

On Saturday, Russia, China, South Africa, and Equatorial Guinea blocked the US push for a UN Security Council statement expressing support for the Guaido-led National Assembly as the “only democratically-elected institution,” of Venezuela. The move came ahead of the UNSC meeting, requested by the US, in which the Venezuelan crisis is set be discussed. </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> Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó has declared himself interim president of the beleaguered South American country, in a dramatic escalation of efforts to force President Nicolás Maduro from power.

Before thousands of protesters in the capital Caracas, the 35-year-old lawmaker raised his right hand and said he was “formally assuming the responsibility of the national executive”.

Guaidó, the head of the opposition-run congress, has said he would be willing to assume the presidency on an interim basis with the support of the armed forces to call elections.

The move was immediately welcomed by Donald Trump who called on other countries in the western hemisphere governments to recognize Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela.

“In its role as the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people, the National Assembly invoked the country’s constitution to declare Nicolas Maduro illegitimate, and the office of the presidency therefore vacant. The people of Venezuela have courageously spoken out against Maduro and his regime and demanded freedom and the rule of law,” Trump said in a statement.

“We continue to hold the illegitimate Maduro regime directly responsible for any threats it may pose to the safety of the Venezuelan people,” he said.

The move comes as tens of thousands joined marches across the country’s capital in what opponents of Nicolás Maduro hope will prove a turning point for the country’s slide into authoritarianism and economic ruin.

Venezuela’s president, who started his second term on 11 January after disputed elections, is facing a reinvigorated opposition as well as increasing international hostility from the rightwing governments of the US, Brazil and Colombia.

Wednesday’s march follow two nights of violent protests in working-class neighbourhoods of Caracas – once bastions of support for the government – and the apparent foiling of an armed uprising by members of the national guard.

Early on Wednesday, protesters in eastern Caracas braved an early morning downpour, shouting in unison: “Who are we? Venezuela! What do we want? Freedom!”

An opposition member holds a Venezuelan national flag during a protest march against Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on Wednesday.

In the centre of the capital, riot police flanked by water tanks and lightly armored vehicles had already been deployed to the central Plaza Venezuela square.

Other protests were planned across the country and outside embassies around the world.

Guaidó repeated calls for members of the security forces to withdraw their support for Maduro. “The world’s eyes are on our homeland today,” he said in an early-morning tweet.

Relatively unknown until this month, Guaidó appears to have reinvigorated Venezuela’s opposition which has long been racked by infighting. Ahead of Maduro’s inauguration, Guaidó described the leader as a “usurper” and declared himself ready to assume the presidency until open elections could be held.

Wednesday also marks the anniversary of the 1958 uprising that overthrew the military dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez – a symbolism that was not lost on María de Jesús, a social worker from Caracas who was born on the day of the 1958 rebellion.

“I was born in democracy,” she said on her way to the march in Caracas. “I want my freedom; this is a dictatorship.”

Across town, several hundred supporters held a rival march in support of Maduro. Though it was dwarfed in size by the opposition protest, those in attendance were in a buoyant mood.

“We are here to support our president and defend our resources,” said Ana Media, who works for the state oil company PDVA, as salsa music blasted from loudspeakers. “We know that other countries are against Maduro because they want to take over our resources.”

Oil-rich Venezuela is mired in economic and political turmoil, with hyperinflation rendering the bolivar currency practically worthless. Shortages in food staples and basic medicines are rampant, and crime is widespread. More than 3 million Venezuelans have fled, causing consternation across the continent.

Analysts have long held that Maduro’s survival depends on the backing of the military, who he has rewarded with senior positions in government and the state oil company PDVSA.

But it is unclear how solid that support is. Guaidó and the opposition-held national assembly have sought to peel away the military, offering an amnesty to members of the armed forces who help bring about a return to democracy. This week, authorities arrested 27 national guardsmen who tried to launch an uprising against Maduro.

In Ciudad Guayana, a north-eastern city, a statue of Hugo Chávez – Maduro’s late predecessor and the figurehead of Venezuelan socialism – was burned, cut in half and the bust hung from a bridge on Tuesday night.

Maduro has accused the opposition of fomenting violence. “I demand the full rigor of the law against the fascists,” he said on Tuesday night. His allies have also threatened the use of armed pro-government militias – known as colectivos – to quell disturbances.

The United States, long fiercely opposed to Maduro, has thrown its support behind the opposition. “President Trump and the US stand resolutely with the Venezuelan people as they seek to regain their liberty from dictator Nicolás Maduro,” Vice-President Mike Pence wrote in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

A previous spate of protests in 2017 left at least 120 dead and hundreds more injured, after Maduro dispatched the national guard. Human rights watchdogs and international observers are readying for a similar crackdown on Wednesday.

Foro Penal, a local watchdog, reported on Wednesday morning that 30 protestors had been arrested overnight. Local journalists alleged that authorities in Caracas had attempted to confiscate their equipment.
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó swears himself in as President of Venezuela, with de facto President Nicolás Maduro not recognizing this.