Broad front line in Venezuela’s crisis

Tcountries he recognition of Juan by Guaidó the UK as and Venezuelas several ’other interim EU president is a welcome step in the diplomatic effort to increase pressure on the regime of Nicolás Maduro. With Venezuela suffering what Luis Almagro, secretarygeneral of the Organisation of American States, has described as the “most devastating humanitarian crisis our hemisphere has experienced”, most of the EU has now given its backing to Guaidó. European states have joined the co-ordinated approach by the US, Canada and the majority of Latin American countries after Maduro was inaugurated for a second six-year term.

It is vital that efforts aimed at finding a solution to Venezuela’s crisis cover as broad a diplomatic front as possible. About 2-million Venezuelans of an official population of about 32-million are estimated by the UN to be living in exile, while those at home in what was once Latin America’s wealthiest country are faced with chronic shortages of food, water and medicine.

In a region with a long history of US intervention, it is important that pressure on the Maduro regime is not perceived as simply another example of imperialism, or that the crisis is reduced to a great power struggle between the US and Russia, both of which have big interests in oil, Venezuela’s chief and virtually only export.

The opposition’s latest move to organise mass shipments of humanitarian aid is significant. So far, the Maduro government has refused such aid. The quantities that will cross Venezuela’s borders and be distributed inside the country are unclear. The aim is to provide relief to Venezuelans and force the military to define its position.

Some of the army top brass are wavering in their support for Maduro. They now face a choice between breaking ranks with the president and agreeing to help distribute the aid, or refusing to do so and raising the chances of outside military intervention. /London, February 4