Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Crisis in Venezuela
Opposition leader risks arrest, returns to cheers of supporters
Venezuelan Congress President Juan Guaido, an opposition leader who declared himself interim president, waves from the scaffolding after speaking at a rally demanding the resignation of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday in Caracas, Venezuela.
CARACAS, Venezuela — Opposition leader Juan Guaido made a triumphant return to Venezuela on Monday after a 10-day absence, injecting fresh energy into the U.S.-backed campaign to push out authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro.
Guaido arrived shortly after noon to cheers from supporters gathered at Caracas’ Maiquetia Simon Bolivar International Airport. “Guaido! Guaido” they screamed. “Yes we can!”
“We are here, Venezuela,” a beaming Guaido declared, as he was encircled by television cameras. “We are strong. We are moving forward!”
The 35-year-old leader showed off his passport before climbing onto scaffolding and pumping his fist during the demonstration in Caracas, delighting euphoric followers.
Guaido supporters in Venezuela and abroad had feared he might be arrested on arrival. The opposition leader, who has been recognized as interim president by the United States and more than 50 other countries, had defied a court order when he crossed the border on Feb. 22 to lead an effort to bring truckloads of humanitarian aid into the country. He has since been traveling to meet with Latin American leaders.
Senior diplomats from the United States, Europe and Latin America had gathered at the airport Monday to ensure Guaido was not harmed.
Officials including British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt and John Bolton, the U.S. national security adviser, had warned that Maduro would face severe consequences if he detained Guaido.
“The international community must unite and push for the end of Maduro’s brutal regime and the peaceful restoration of democracy in Venezuela,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Colombian President Ivan Duque tweeted that Guaido’s homecoming was part of the “irreversible path that Venezuela has taken toward democracy.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for dialogue by all parties to end the political impasse.
Maduro had said that Guaido will “face justice” if he returns, and security was heavier than usual at the airport. But the opposition leader cleared immigration with no problem. Until almost the last minute, Venezuelans had been unsure of when and where he would arrive.
Guaido had called for widespread anti-government demonstrations on Monday and today. He said he would meet today with public employee unions controlled by the government of Maduro, who retains the support of military generals despite the desertion of hundreds of lower-ranking military personnel.
“The regime must understand, the dictatorship must understand … that we’re stronger than ever. We’ll continue protesting, we’ll continue mobilizing,” said Guaido, who had ignored an official ban on foreign travel to leave Venezuela last month.
Thousands of his supporters jammed a southern Caracas plaza and surrounding streets on Monday. As they heard he had arrived in Venezuela, they began cheering.
“We want to tell the government that we are here with Guaido, and that we are not afraid,” said Yesenia Carrillo, 39, a housewife.
“The situation is unbearable,” said Gloria Lara, 60, a middle school teacher, referring to the disintegrating economy. “Guaido arrived as a messiah, like a savior.” She noted the government had arrested other opposition leaders in past years, or forced them into exile, and said she hoped he would not be detained.
The opposition movement appeared to stall after it failed in its effort to defy the armed forces and send convoys of international humanitarian assistance across the border into the country on Feb. 23. Security forces largely stayed loyal to Maduro and dispersed protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets, leaving truckloads of aid stranded outside a country in desperate economic straits.
Guaido remained abroad for 10 days, visiting capitals throughout Latin America as he prepared his return.
Maduro has accused the opposition leader of being part of a U.S. plot to overthrow his government. On Monday, Maduro tweeted that Venezuelans should enjoy the Carnival holidays this week.
Maduro has grown increasingly unpopular as Venezuela’s oil-based economy has collapsed, as a result of government mismanagement and lower petroleum prices in recent years. The International Monetary Fund has warned that inflation could reach 10 million percent this year. Food and medicine have become scarce.
Also Monday, President Donald Trump’s administration announced that it is tightening the six-decade trade embargo on Cuba by allowing lawsuits against Cuban companies using properties confiscated after its 1959 revolution, though the impact appears to be largely symbolic. The measure is being presented as retaliation for Cuba’s support of Maduro.
The announcement limits lawsuits to a list of about 200 Cuban businesses and government agencies that are already subject to special U.S. sanctions because they are tied to the Cuban military and intelligence ministries. Virtually none of the businesses have any links to the U.S. legal or financial systems, meaning the ability to sue is unlikely to have any effect on the Cuban economy or foreign businesses that work with the socialist government.
The new action allows a small portion of Title III of the act to take effect, but the Trump administration raised the possibility of more biting sanctions in the near future: It said this suspension would expire after 30 days while most previous suspensions have lasted six months.
The Cuban government called that an “unacceptable threat against the world.”