Guaidó continues anti-Maduro plot

CARACAS: The challenge in ousting President Nicolás Maduro had only increased, Juan Guaidó said Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) as the Trump administration vowed its continued recognition of the opposition leader as the nation’s interim president, even if his coalition loses control of congress — its last major stronghold.

Major parties in the opposition led by Guaidó have announced plans to boycott upcoming congressional elections, accusing Maduro’s government of hijacking the process. Their decision not to participate throws into question their legitimacy after their terms end in early January.

But the State Department’s top official on Venezuela testifying in Washington said nothing Maduro does will alter the position held by the United States and dozens of other nations about Venezuela’s legitimate leadership.

“In our view the constitutional president of Venezuela today and after Jan. 5, 2021, is Juan Guaidó,” Trump’s special representative to Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, told the US Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations in a hearing. “[Maduro] will not change the legal status for many countries around the world — and especially for us.”

Maduro’s government has scheduled a December 6 election for a new National Assembly, which is now controlled by the opposition.

As the body’s leader, Guaidó last year claimed the nation’s presidency, arguing that Maduro’s reelection had been fraudulent, in part because top opposition figures were banned from running.

Speaking with The Associated Press in Caracas in a virtual interview, Guaidó said boycotting the congressional elections was justified because the conditions set by Maduro’s government eroded the electoral process beyond the 2018 presidential election — which the opposition also rejected.