In a televised nationwide address, leader says White House ‘ordered this attack’ and calls on public to mount ‘active resistance’

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

The United States has said it will withdraw all remaining diplomatic staff from Venezuela as Nicolás Maduro accused Donald Trump of masterminding a “demonic” plot to force him from power by crippling the country’s electricity system with an imperialist “electromagnetic attack”.

The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced the decision to vacate the US embassy in the crisis-stricken country’s capital, Caracas, late on Monday.

“This decision reflects the deteriorating situation in #Venezuela as well as the conclusion that the presence of US diplomatic staff at the embassy has become a constraint on US policy,” Pompeo tweeted.

Maduro’s political foes and many specialists believe the calamitous nationwide blackout that struck last Thursday – and has yet to be resolved – is the result of years of mismanagement, corruption and incompetence.

“We are in the middle of a catastrophe that is not the result of a hurricane, that is not the result of a tsunami,” Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader battling to topple Maduro, told CNN on Sunday. “It’s the product of the inefficiency, the incapability, the corruption of a regime that doesn’t care about the lives of Venezuelans.”

'A city of shadows': fear as Venezuela's crippling blackout enters day four Read more

But in a televised nationwide address on Monday night Maduro pointed the finger of blame at the White House in what critics condemned as a cynical attempt to deflect criticism of his regime’s responsibility.

“The United States’ imperialist government ordered this attack,” Maduro claimed in his 35-minute speech, only his second significant intervention since the crisis began last week.

“They came with a strategy of war of the kind that only these criminals – who have been to war and have destroyed the people of Iraq, of Libya, of Afghanistan and of Syria – think up.”

Maduro alleged the US had conducted the attack – in league with “puppets and clowns” from the Venezuelan opposition – in order to create “a state of despair, of widespread want and of conflict” that would justify a foreign intervention and Venezuela’s military occupation.

But Maduro, who inherited Hugo Chávez’s Bolivarian revolution after his 2013 death, vowed that the supposed attack on Venezuela’s grid would be thwarted.

“Victory belongs to us,” he declared. “What you can be certain of is that sooner rather later, in the coming days, we will win this battle definitively … We will win - and we will do it for Venezuela. We will do it for our homeland. We will do it for you … we will do it because of our people’s right to happiness.”

Ominously, he called on Venezuelan citizens and on pro-government paramilitary gangs known as colectivos to resist the “imperialist” onslaught. “The time has come for active resistance,” he said.

Maduro has been fighting for political survival since January when Guaidó declared himself Venezuela’s legitimate leader and was swiftly recognised as interim president by dozens of western nations including the US and Britain.

Maduro’s many opponents – who blame him for a devastating economic collapse that has triggered the most severe migration crisis in recent Latin American history – ridicule his claims that the outage is part of a White House conspiracy.

Anna Ferrera, a student activist in Caracas, said: “They go around and around saying this was sabotage and how the US always sabotages things and the empire is going against Venezuela. But they haven’t given any [credible] explanation.”

“They always make up stories to explain the flaws of the system … this is outrageous,” added Ferrera, who said she feared many might accept Maduro’s version because the black out had knocked out communication systems across the country, giving his administration a monopoly on information.

Dimitris Pantoulas, a Caracas-based political analyst, said Maduro had appeared “worried, anxious and absolutely desperate” in his Monday night broadcast, suggesting the situation was dire.

“It is clear, from what he said, that the government does not control the situation (nobody does) and they do not have any plan or strategy,” Pantoulas tweeted.

Maduro – who gave no evidence for his claims – gave little hint that an end was in sight to a crisis that the opposition blames for at least 21 deaths and many fear could plunge the country into violence and turmoil.

“They will insist in their attacks,” Maduro said, calling on Venezuelans to respond with “nerves of steel”.

Speaking to CNN hours earlier, Guaidó said: “Venezuela has truly collapsed already … You can say with all responsibility that Venezuela has already collapsed.” </s> Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted late Monday that he plans to pull all remaining U.S. diplomats from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.

"This decision reflects the deteriorating situation in #Venezuela as well as the conclusion that the presence of U.S. diplomatic staff at the embassy has become a constraint on U.S. policy," Pompeo Tweeted.

The decision comes amid a nationwide blackout which has led to mass looting, spoiled food, and dying medical patients.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blamed the White House for the power outages. But former State Department senior adviser Christian Whiton said it’s a direct result of Maduro’s dictatorship.

“Maduro [and] the socialists have neglected Venezuela’s infrastructure including its energy grid for a long time, long time and this is the culmination of that,” Christian Whiton told FOX Business' Kennedy on Monday.

Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido told FOX Business exclusively on Monday that the Maduro regime is to blame for burning humanitarian aid.

“The world has seen how Maduro’s government has burned medicines and foodstuffs. The world saw how they blocked trucks to enter medicine into the country,” he told Trish Regan. “In fact, there’s a plant in Cucuta right now, and a plant producing emergency supplies for hospitals, and we know that as long as Maduro’s government is in place, it will be difficult to enter [for] these supplies. But our responsibility is to attend to our people’s suffering.” </s> Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza lashed out at politicians close to US President Donald Trump for “celebrating” in the wake of electricity supply issues facing the South American country.

“While the Venezuelan society has calmly accepted the circumstances that resulted from the sabotage in the country’s electric power industry, and the employees of Corpoelec [national electricity supplier] are restlessly working, those close to Donald Trump have been celebrating, enjoying the reckless distortion [of facts] despite what Venezuelans are going through,” Arreaza wrote on Twitter in response to the recent comments by US politicians.

In his tweet on Friday, Arreaza referred to tweets by US State Secretary Mike Pompeo who denied claims that Washington had a role in the electricity system collapse.

Moreover, on Thursday, US Senator Marco Rubio wrote on Twitter that several weeks ago, the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blamed iguanas for causing damage to the electric power grid. Rubio also wrote that he had a video of what caused the ongoing blackout in Venezuela, publishing an image of Godzilla shooting fire breath. Rubio’s tweet referred to the statement by Venezuelan Electricity Minister Luis Motta Dominguez, who said back in October that power outages in Venezuela had been caused by animals, including iguanas, getting into electric power stations.

Jorge Rodriguez, Venezuela’s minister of Communication and Information, suggested on Friday, as aired by the state-run VTV broadcaster, that both Rubio and Pompeo had known about the blackout before it had hit Venezuela because their reaction to the situation in the South American country had been very prompt.

“They carried out a cyberattack on the automatic control system. Everything shows that it is a multiformat and violent attack against whole Venezuela… In the coming days, a delegation headed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet will visit Venezuela in the coming days. We will show her the proof about these criminals. We will submit a complaint to her in order the world to respect human rights in Venezuela,” Rodriguez pointed out.

On Wednesday, Bachelet said the UN mission will visit Venezuela the next week to access the human rights situation in the country.

Later, a Sputnik correspondent reported that power supply is gradually being restored in some areas of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas in the wake of a major blackout that hit the country.

As of 09:00 p.m. on Friday [01:00 GMT on Saturday], electricity returned to Caracas’ central Altagracia district, southeastern Colinas De Santa Monica area, northern La Florida district and western Caricuao and Catia areas. However, temporary power supply failures can be still experienced in these areas.

The blackout swept Venezuela on Thursday as Corpoelec reported about a “sabotage” at the major Guri hydroelectric power plant. Media subsequently reported about power outages in 21 out or 23 Venezuela’s states. Maduro blamed the United States for waging an electric energy war against Venezuela.
• Venezuela Crisis: Guaido Calls for Further Protests to Avoid Arrest upon Return </s> Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.





CARACAS, March 12 - Venezuela ordered American diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours on Tuesday after President Nicolas Maduro accused U.S. counterpart Donald Trump of cyber "sabotage" that plunged the OPEC nation into its worst blackout on record.

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said U.S. diplomats on Venezuelan soil must leave within three days, after talks broke down over maintaining diplomatic "interest sections" in the two countries."The presence on Venezuelan soil of these officials represents a risk for the peace, unity and stability of the country," the government said in a statement.The U.S. State Department had announced on Monday it will withdraw its staff from Venezuela this week, saying their presence had become "a constraint on U.S. policy."Washington has taken the lead in recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's rightful president after the 35-year-old Congress chief announced an interim presidency in January after declaring Maduro's 2018 re-election a fraud. Most countries in Europe and Latin America have followed suit.Maduro, who retains control of the military and other state institutions as well as the backing of Russia and China, has denounced Guaido as a puppet of the United States.Julio Castro, of nongovernmental organization Doctors for Health, said on Twitter on Monday night that 24 people have died in public hospitals since the start of the blackout.With the blackout in its sixth day, hospitals struggled to keep equipment running, food rotted in the tropical heat and exports from the country's main oil terminal were shut down.Venezuela's opposition-controlled Congress on Monday declared a symbolic "state of alarm" on Monday.Power returned to many parts of the country on Tuesday, including some areas that had not had electricity since last Thursday, according to witnesses and social media.But power was still out in parts of the capital of Caracas and the western region near the border with Colombia.'TRUMP MOST RESPONSIBLE'Maduro blamed Washington for organizing what he said was a sophisticated cyber attack on Venezuela's hydroelectric power operations."Donald Trump is most responsible for the cyber attack on the Venezuelan electricity system," Maduro said in a broadcast from the Miraflores presidential palace on Monday night."This is a technology that only the government of the United States possesses."Maduro, elected in 2013 following the death of his political mentor Hugo Chavez, officially broke diplomatic relations with the United States on Jan. 23 when it recognized Guaido. Washington evacuated most of its diplomatic staff two days later.The blackout was likely caused by a technical problem with transmission lines linking the Guri hydroelectric plant in southeastern Venezuela to the national power grid, experts told Reuters.Venezuela's electricity network has suffered from years of underinvestment and lack of maintenance. With the economy in a tailspin, spare parts are scarce while many skilled technical staff have fled the country amid an exodus of more than three million Venezuelans in three years.The government suspended schools and business activities on Tuesday for two more days, after doing so on Friday and Monday.Guaido planned to lead national protests over the blackout in Caracas on Tuesday afternoon."With our neighbors and relatives, we will protest in the streets and avenues closest to each other's home to claim our rights," Guaido said on Twitter on Tuesday.Amid signs of a crackdown on media, the National Press Workers' Union said that prominent radio journalist Luis Carlos Diaz was arrested on Monday by intelligence agents at his home in Caracas.The Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Venezuelan authorities briefly detained American journalist Cody Weddle last week before ordering him to leave the country.

Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>> </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela defused a potential showdown with the United States, suspending a demand that U.S. diplomats leave the country as Washington called on the world to "pick a side" in the South American nation's fast-moving crisis.

Socialist President Nicolas Maduro broke relations with the United States on Wednesday after the Trump administration and many other nations in the region recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president, a move that Maduro called a coup attempt.

Maduro gave U.S. diplomats three days to leave the country, but the Trump administration said it wouldn't obey, arguing that Maduro is no longer Venezuela's legitimate president. That set the stage for a showdown at the hilltop U.S. Embassy compound Saturday night, when the deadline was to expire.

But as the sun set on Venezuela's capital, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Maduro's government was suspending the expulsion to provide a 30-day window for negotiating with U.S. officials about setting up a "U.S. interests office" in Venezuela and a similar Venezuelan office in the United States. The U.S. and Cuba had a similar arrangement for decades before the Obama administration restored diplomatic relations with the communist-run island.

The State Department did not confirm the Venezuelan government's account, reiterating only that its priority remains the safety of its personnel and that it has no plans to close the embassy.

Earlier Saturday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the U.N. Security Council: "Let me be 100 percent clear — President Trump and I fully expect that our diplomats will continue to receive protections provided under the Vienna Convention. Do not test the United States on our resolve to protect our people."

In the Security Council meeting, critics and supporters of Maduro's government faced off in a reflection of the world's deep divisions over Venezuela, which is mired in political confrontation as well as an economic collapse that has caused millions to flee the country.

During the debate, which was requested by the U.S., Pompeo urged all nations to end Venezuela's "nightmare" and support Guaido.

"Now is the time for every other national to pick a side," Pompeo said. "No more delays, no more games. Either you stand with the forces of freedom, or you're in league with Maduro and his mayhem."

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia charged that the Trump administration is trying "to engineer a coup" against Maduro. He said Venezuela doesn't threaten international peace and security, and he accused "extremist opponents" of Maduro's government of choosing "maximum confrontation," including the artificial creation of a parallel government.

Nebenzia urged Pompeo to say whether the U.S. will use military force.

Pompeo later told reporters who asked for a response, "I am not going to speculate or hypothesize on what the U.S. will do next."

Pompeo was accompanied to New York by Elliott Abrams, who was named a day earlier as the U.S. special representative for Venezuela. Abrams is a former assistant secretary of state for Latin America who worked at the White House when a 2002 coup in Venezuela briefly ousted Maduro's predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez.

On his first day on the job, Abrams met with exiled leaders of Venezuela's opposition. He also spoke by phone with Guaido, the leader of Venezuela's opposition-controlled congress. Abrams reaffirmed U.S. support for Guaido as interim president, said Kimberly Breier, the current assistant secretary of state for the region.

The Security Council, the U.N.'s most powerful body, has not taken action on the Venezuelan crisis because of the divisions. The Security Council's five veto-holding permanent members could not unite behind a statement on Venezuela, presenting widely differing texts.

The leaders of two of those council nations — France and Britain — joined Spain and Germany to turn up the pressure on Maduro, saying Saturday that they would follow the U.S. and others in recognizing Guaido as president unless Venezuela calls a new presidential election within eight days.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said that if there is no announcement of a new election in the next days, the 28-nation bloc "will take further actions, including on the issue of recognition of the country's leadership."

"Europe is giving us eight days?" he asked the council. "Where do you get that you have the power to establish a deadline or an ultimatum to a sovereign people. It's almost childlike."

Arreaza asked that someone show him where in Venezuela's constitution it says an individual can proclaim himself president.

Guaido says he is acting in accordance with two articles of the constitution that give the National Assembly president the right to hold power temporarily and call new elections.

While the council debated, a man identifying himself as Venezuela's military attache in Washington posted a video saying he had broken with Maduro and now would report to Guaido.

"The armed forces have a fundamental role to play in the restoration of democracy," Col. Jose Luis Silva said in the video, which he said was shot at his office in the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, sitting in front of the nation's red, blue and yellow flag.

He called on other members of the military to join him in supporting Guaido, saying they need to avoid "attacking" protesters whose only aim is to feed themselves.

"We welcome him and everyone who with honesty want to follow the constitution and the will of the Venezuelan people," he said on social media after attending a small assembly in Caracas to discuss the opposition's next moves.

Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for U.S. National Security Council, encouraged others to follow Silva's lead "to protect constitutional order, not to sustain dictators and repress its own people."

Venezuela's top commanders have pledged loyalty to Maduro's government in the days since Guaido declared himself interim leader on grounds that Maduro's re-election last year was fraudulent — an allegation supported by the U.S., the European Union and many Latin American nations.

But support for Maduro's rule is weaker among the military's rank and file, whose households are suffering from widespread food shortages and hyperinflation like their civilian counterparts. Last week, a small National Guard unit stole a stockpile of weapons in what it said was an attempt to oust Maduro. The uprising was quelled and 25 guardsmen arrested.

The standoff has plunged troubled Venezuela into a new chapter of political turmoil that rights groups say has already left more than two dozen dead as thousands take to the street demanding Maduro step down.

Associated Press writer Manuel Rueda reported this story in Caracas and AP writer Edith M. Lederer reported from the United Nations. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela defused a potential showdown with the United States, suspending a demand that U.S. diplomats leave the country as Washington called on the world to “pick a side” in the South American nation’s fast-moving crisis.

Socialist President Nicolas Maduro broke relations with the United States on Wednesday after the Trump administration and many other nations in the region recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president, a move that Maduro called a coup attempt.

Maduro gave U.S. diplomats three days to leave the country, but the Trump administration said it wouldn’t obey, arguing that Maduro is no longer Venezuela’s legitimate president. That set the stage for a showdown at the hilltop U.S. Embassy compound Saturday night, when the deadline was to expire.

But as the sun set on Venezuela’s capital, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Maduro’s government was suspending the expulsion to provide a 30-day window for negotiating with U.S. officials about setting up a “U.S. interests office” in Venezuela and a similar Venezuelan office in the United States. The U.S. and Cuba had a similar arrangement for decades before the Obama administration restored diplomatic relations with the communist-run island.

The State Department did not confirm the Venezuelan government’s account, reiterating only that its priority remains the safety of its personnel and that it has no plans to close the embassy.

Earlier Saturday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the U.N. Security Council: “Let me be 100 percent clear — President Trump and I fully expect that our diplomats will continue to receive protections provided under the Vienna Convention. Do not test the United States on our resolve to protect our people.”

In the Security Council meeting, critics and supporters of Maduro’s government faced off in a reflection of the world’s deep divisions over Venezuela, which is mired in political confrontation as well as an economic collapse that has caused millions to flee the country.

During the debate, which was requested by the U.S., Pompeo urged all nations to end Venezuela’s “nightmare” and support Guaido.

“Now is the time for every other national to pick a side,” Pompeo said. “No more delays, no more games. Either you stand with the forces of freedom, or you’re in league with Maduro and his mayhem.”

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia charged that the Trump administration is trying “to engineer a coup” against Maduro. He said Venezuela doesn’t threaten international peace and security, and he accused “extremist opponents” of Maduro’s government of choosing “maximum confrontation,” including the artificial creation of a parallel government.

Nebenzia urged Pompeo to say whether the U.S. will use military force.

Pompeo later told reporters who asked for a response, “I am not going to speculate or hypothesize on what the U.S. will do next.”

Pompeo was accompanied to New York by Elliott Abrams, who was named a day earlier as the U.S. special representative for Venezuela. Abrams is a former assistant secretary of state for Latin America who worked at the White House when a 2002 coup in Venezuela briefly ousted Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez.

On his first day on the job, Abrams met with exiled leaders of Venezuela’s opposition. He also spoke by phone with Guaido, the leader of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress.

Abrams reaffirmed U.S. support for Guaido as interim president, said Kimberly Breier, the current assistant secretary of state for the region.

The Security Council, the U.N.’s most powerful body, has not taken action on the Venezuelan crisis because of the divisions. The Security Council’s five veto-holding permanent members could not unite behind a statement on Venezuela, presenting widely differing texts.

The leaders of two of those council nations — France and Britain — joined Spain and Germany to turn up the pressure on Maduro, saying Saturday that they would follow the U.S. and others in recognizing Guaido as president unless Venezuela calls a new presidential election within eight days.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said that if there is no announcement of a new election in the next days, the 28-nation bloc “will take further actions, including on the issue of recognition of the country’s leadership.”

“Europe is giving us eight days?” he asked the council. “Where do you get that you have the power to establish a deadline or an ultimatum to a sovereign people. It’s almost childlike.”

Arreaza asked that someone show him where in Venezuela’s constitution it says an individual can proclaim himself president.

Guaido says he is acting in accordance with two articles of the constitution that give the National Assembly president the right to hold power temporarily and call new elections.

While the council debated, a man identifying himself as Venezuela’s military attache in Washington posted a video saying he had broken with Maduro and now would report to Guaido.

“The armed forces have a fundamental role to play in the restoration of democracy,” Col. Jose Luis Silva said in the video, which he said was shot at his office in the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, sitting in front of the nation’s red, blue and yellow flag.

He called on other members of the military to join him in supporting Guaido, saying they need to avoid “attacking” protesters whose only aim is to feed themselves.

“We welcome him and everyone who with honesty want to follow the constitution and the will of the Venezuelan people,” he said on social media after attending a small assembly in Caracas to discuss the opposition’s next moves.

Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for U.S. National Security Council, encouraged others to follow Silva’s lead “to protect constitutional order, not to sustain dictators and repress its own people.”

Venezuela’s top commanders have pledged loyalty to Maduro’s government in the days since Guaido declared himself interim leader on grounds that Maduro’s re-election last year was fraudulent — an allegation supported by the U.S., the European Union and many Latin American nations.

But support for Maduro’s rule is weaker among the military’s rank and file, whose households are suffering from widespread food shortages and hyperinflation like their civilian counterparts. Last week, a small National Guard unit stole a stockpile of weapons in what it said was an attempt to oust Maduro. The uprising was quelled and 25 guardsmen arrested.

The standoff has plunged troubled Venezuela into a new chapter of political turmoil that rights groups say has already left more than two dozen dead as thousands take to the street demanding Maduro step down.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Jorge Rodriguez said on Saturday that the country’s near-total blackout has been caused by a cyberattack against the Guri hydroelectric power plant, which provides over 70 percent of the nation's electricity. Rodrigues claimed the outage could have been staged by the US.

“They [the US] carried out a cyberattack on [Guri’s] automatic control system. Everything shows that it is a multiformat and violent attack against all of Venezuela", Rodriguez told the country’s state television network.

READ MORE: Pompeo on Venezuela Blackout: 'Maduro’s Policies Bring Nothing but Darkness'

He said that a delegation headed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet will visit Venezuela in the next few days and that Caracas “will show her the proof about these criminals”.

“We will submit a complaint to her in order for the world to respect human rights in Venezuela”, Rodriguez underscored, vowing that the electric power supply will be restored in the coming hours throughout the country.

His statement comes after Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza lashed out on Friday at politicians close to US President Donald Trump for "celebrating" and “enjoying the reckless distortion [of facts]” in the wake of electricity supply issues facing Venezuela.

READ MORE: Venezuelan President Maduro Says 'Electric Energy War' Declared by US to Fail

On Thursday, the Venezuelan national electricity supplier reported that Guri had faced deliberate sabotage, with a power outage subsequently registered in 21 out of Venezuela’s 23 states. President Nicolas Maduro accused the US of waging an "electricity war" against Venezuela. </s> CARACAS, Capital District — Venezuela defused a potential showdown with the United States, suspending a demand that U.S. diplomats leave the country as Washington called on the world to "pick a side" in the South American nation's fast-moving crisis.

Socialist President Nicolas Maduro broke relations with the United States on Wednesday after the Trump administration and many other nations in the region recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president, a move that Maduro called a coup attempt.

Maduro gave U.S. diplomats three days to leave the country, but the Trump administration said it wouldn't obey, arguing that Maduro is no longer Venezuela's legitimate president. That set the stage for a showdown at the hilltop U.S. Embassy compound Saturday night, when the deadline was to expire.

But as the sun set on Venezuela's capital, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Maduro's government was suspending the expulsion to provide a 30-day window for negotiating with U.S. officials about setting up a "U.S. interests office" in Venezuela and a similar Venezuelan office in the United States. The U.S. and Cuba had a similar arrangement for decades before the Obama administration restored diplomatic relations with the communist-run island.

The State Department did not confirm the Venezuelan government's account, reiterating only that its priority remains the safety of its personnel and that it has no plans to close the embassy.

Earlier Saturday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the U.N. Security Council: "Let me be 100 percent clear — President Trump and I fully expect that our diplomats will continue to receive protections provided under the Vienna Convention. Do not test the United States on our resolve to protect our people."

In the Security Council meeting, critics and supporters of Maduro's government faced off in a reflection of the world's deep divisions over Venezuela, which is mired in political confrontation as well as an economic collapse that has caused millions to flee the country.

During the debate, which was requested by the U.S., Pompeo urged all nations to end Venezuela's "nightmare" and support Guaido.

"Now is the time for every other national to pick a side," Pompeo said. "No more delays, no more games. Either you stand with the forces of freedom, or you're in league with Maduro and his mayhem."

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia charged that the Trump administration is trying "to engineer a coup" against Maduro. He said Venezuela doesn't threaten international peace and security, and he accused "extremist opponents" of Maduro's government of choosing "maximum confrontation," including the artificial creation of a parallel government.

Nebenzia urged Pompeo to say whether the U.S. will use military force.

Pompeo later told reporters who asked for a response, "I am not going to speculate or hypothesize on what the U.S. will do next."

Pompeo was accompanied to New York by Elliott Abrams, who was named a day earlier as the U.S. special representative for Venezuela. Abrams is a former assistant secretary of state for Latin America who worked at the White House when a 2002 coup in Venezuela briefly ousted Maduro's predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez.

On his first day on the job, Abrams met with exiled leaders of Venezuela's opposition. He also spoke by phone with Guaido, the leader of Venezuela's opposition-controlled congress. Abrams reaffirmed U.S. support for Guaido as interim president, said Kimberly Breier, the current assistant secretary of state for the region.

The Security Council, the U.N.'s most powerful body, has not taken action on the Venezuelan crisis because of the divisions. The Security Council's five veto-holding permanent members could not unite behind a statement on Venezuela, presenting widely differing texts.

The leaders of two of those council nations — France and Britain — joined Spain and Germany to turn up the pressure on Maduro, saying Saturday that they would follow the U.S. and others in recognizing Guaido as president unless Venezuela calls a new presidential election within eight days.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said that if there is no announcement of a new election in the next days, the 28-nation bloc "will take further actions, including on the issue of recognition of the country's leadership."

"Europe is giving us eight days?" he asked the council. "Where do you get that you have the power to establish a deadline or an ultimatum to a sovereign people. It's almost childlike."

Arreaza asked that someone show him where in Venezuela's constitution it says an individual can proclaim himself president.

Guaido says he is acting in accordance with two articles of the constitution that give the National Assembly president the right to hold power temporarily and call new elections.

While the council debated, a man identifying himself as Venezuela's military attache in Washington posted a video saying he had broken with Maduro and now would report to Guaido.

"The armed forces have a fundamental role to play in the restoration of democracy," Col. Jose Luis Silva said in the video, which he said was shot at his office in the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, sitting in front of the nation's red, blue and yellow flag.

He called on other members of the military to join him in supporting Guaido, saying they need to avoid "attacking" protesters whose only aim is to feed themselves.

"We welcome him and everyone who with honesty want to follow the constitution and the will of the Venezuelan people," he said on social media after attending a small assembly in Caracas to discuss the opposition's next moves.

Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for U.S. National Security Council, encouraged others to follow Silva's lead "to protect constitutional order, not to sustain dictators and repress its own people."

Venezuela's top commanders have pledged loyalty to Maduro's government in the days since Guaido declared himself interim leader on grounds that Maduro's re-election last year was fraudulent — an allegation supported by the U.S., the European Union and many Latin American nations.

But support for Maduro's rule is weaker among the military's rank and file, whose households are suffering from widespread food shortages and hyperinflation like their civilian counterparts. Last week, a small National Guard unit stole a stockpile of weapons in what it said was an attempt to oust Maduro. The uprising was quelled and 25 guardsmen arrested.

The standoff has plunged troubled Venezuela into a new chapter of political turmoil that rights groups say has already left more than two dozen dead as thousands take to the street demanding Maduro step down.

Associated Press writer Manuel Rueda reported this story in Caracas and AP writer Edith M. Lederer reported from the United Nations. </s> Venezuela allows US diplomats to stay, defusing showdown

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela defused a potential showdown with the United States, suspending a demand that U.S. diplomats leave the country as Washington called on the world to "pick a side" in the South American nation's fast-moving crisis.

Socialist President Nicolas Maduro broke relations with the United States on Wednesday after the Trump administration and many other nations in the region recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president, a move that Maduro called a coup attempt.

Maduro gave U.S. diplomats three days to leave the country, but the Trump administration said it wouldn't obey, arguing that Maduro is no longer Venezuela's legitimate president. That set the stage for a showdown at the hilltop U.S. Embassy compound Saturday night, when the deadline was to expire.

But as the sun set on Venezuela's capital, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Maduro's government was suspending the expulsion to provide a 30-day window for negotiating with U.S. officials about setting up a "U.S. interests office" in Venezuela and a similar Venezuelan office in the United States. The U.S. and Cuba had a similar arrangement for decades before the Obama administration restored diplomatic relations with the communist-run island.

The State Department did not confirm the Venezuelan government's account, reiterating only that its priority remains the safety of its personnel and that it has no plans to close the embassy.

Earlier Saturday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the U.N. Security Council: "Let me be 100 percent clear — President Trump and I fully expect that our diplomats will continue to receive protections provided under the Vienna Convention. Do not test the United States on our resolve to protect our people."

In the Security Council meeting, critics and supporters of Maduro's government faced off in a reflection of the world's deep divisions over Venezuela, which is mired in political confrontation as well as an economic collapse that has caused millions to flee the country.

During the debate, which was requested by the U.S., Pompeo urged all nations to end Venezuela's "nightmare" and support Guaido.

"Now is the time for every other national to pick a side," Pompeo said. "No more delays, no more games. Either you stand with the forces of freedom, or you're in league with Maduro and his mayhem."

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia charged that the Trump administration is trying "to engineer a coup" against Maduro. He said Venezuela doesn't threaten international peace and security, and he accused "extremist opponents" of Maduro's government of choosing "maximum confrontation," including the artificial creation of a parallel government.

Nebenzia urged Pompeo to say whether the U.S. will use military force.

Pompeo later told reporters who asked for a response, "I am not going to speculate or hypothesize on what the U.S. will do next."

Pompeo was accompanied to New York by Elliott Abrams, who was named a day earlier as the U.S. special representative for Venezuela. Abrams is a former assistant secretary of state for Latin America who worked at the White House when a 2002 coup in Venezuela briefly ousted Maduro's predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez.

On his first day on the job, Abrams met with exiled leaders of Venezuela's opposition. He also spoke by phone with Guaido, the leader of Venezuela's opposition-controlled congress. Abrams reaffirmed U.S. support for Guaido as interim president, said Kimberly Breier, the current assistant secretary of state for the region.

The Security Council, the U.N.'s most powerful body, has not taken action on the Venezuelan crisis because of the divisions. The Security Council's five veto-holding permanent members could not unite behind a statement on Venezuela, presenting widely differing texts.

The leaders of two of those council nations — France and Britain — joined Spain and Germany to turn up the pressure on Maduro, saying Saturday that they would follow the U.S. and others in recognizing Guaido as president unless Venezuela calls a new presidential election within eight days.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said that if there is no announcement of a new election in the next days, the 28-nation bloc "will take further actions, including on the issue of recognition of the country's leadership."

"Europe is giving us eight days?" he asked the council. "Where do you get that you have the power to establish a deadline or an ultimatum to a sovereign people. It's almost childlike."

Arreaza asked that someone show him where in Venezuela's constitution it says an individual can proclaim himself president.

Guaido says he is acting in accordance with two articles of the constitution that give the National Assembly president the right to hold power temporarily and call new elections.

While the council debated, a man identifying himself as Venezuela's military attache in Washington posted a video saying he had broken with Maduro and now would report to Guaido.

"The armed forces have a fundamental role to play in the restoration of democracy," Col. Jose Luis Silva said in the video, which he said was shot at his office in the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, sitting in front of the nation's red, blue and yellow flag.

He called on other members of the military to join him in supporting Guaido, saying they need to avoid "attacking" protesters whose only aim is to feed themselves.

"We welcome him and everyone who with honesty want to follow the constitution and the will of the Venezuelan people," he said on social media after attending a small assembly in Caracas to discuss the opposition's next moves.

Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for U.S. National Security Council, encouraged others to follow Silva's lead "to protect constitutional order, not to sustain dictators and repress its own people."

Venezuela's top commanders have pledged loyalty to Maduro's government in the days since Guaido declared himself interim leader on grounds that Maduro's re-election last year was fraudulent — an allegation supported by the U.S., the European Union and many Latin American nations.

But support for Maduro's rule is weaker among the military's rank and file, whose households are suffering from widespread food shortages and hyperinflation like their civilian counterparts. Last week, a small National Guard unit stole a stockpile of weapons in what it said was an attempt to oust Maduro. The uprising was quelled and 25 guardsmen arrested.

The standoff has plunged troubled Venezuela into a new chapter of political turmoil that rights groups say has already left more than two dozen dead as thousands take to the street demanding Maduro step down.

Associated Press writer Manuel Rueda reported this story in Caracas and AP writer Edith M. Lederer reported from the United Nations.
The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces that the U.S. will be withdrawing all remaining diplomatic staff from Venezuela. The withdrawal follows televised remarks from Nicolás Maduro calling colectivos (paramilitary groups) to active resistance, and alleging that U.S. President Donald Trump masterminded the ongoing nationwide power blackout as part of a "demonic plot" to oust him, by crippling the country's electricity sector with an "electromagnetic attack".