Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó has declared himself interim president, in a dramatic escalation of efforts to force out President Nicolás Maduro who has overseen the country’s slide into authoritarianism and economic ruin.
The move was immediately welcomed by the US, Canadian and a dozen Latin American governments. Donald Trump said he would use the “full weight” of US economic and diplomatic power to push for the restoration of Venezuela’s democracy.
Thousands of protesters clogged the streets of the capital, Caracas, as Guaidó, the head of the opposition-run national assembly, raised his right hand and said: “I swear to assume all the powers of the presidency to secure an end to the usurpation”. » | Joe Parkin Daniels in Bogotá and Mariana Zúñiga in Caracas | Wednesday, January 23, 2019
THE GUARDIAN: Venezuela: who is Juan Guaidó, the man who declared himself president? »
