Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Monday received a hero’s welcome from thousands of flag-waving supporters chanting “Yes, you can” as he returned to Caracas, defying the threat of arrest from embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
“We know the risks we face, that’s never stopped us. The regime, the dictatorship must understand,” said a defiant Guaido, who has been recognized as acting president by more than 50 nations. “We’re stronger than ever, let’s carry on in the streets, mobilized.”
Supporters, media and diplomats from allied nations mobbed Guaido on his arrival at the international airport in Caracas before he headed into the city for a tumultuous homecoming by thousands of supporters.
Photo: Reuters
There, Guaido announced a new protest march for Saturday to ramp up the pressure on Maduro.
“All of Venezuela will return to the streets. We will not rest one second until freedom is achieved,” he said.
Just before his arrival, US Vice President Mike Pence sent a warning to Maduro to ensure Guaido’s safety and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later hailed his “safe return.”
“Any threats, violence, or intimidation against him will not be tolerated & will be met with swift response,” Pence wrote on Twitter.
Pompeo said in a statement that “the international community must unite and push for the end of Maduro’s brutal regime.”
“The risk of arrest remains very real for Guaido,” said US Senator Marco Rubio, adding that it could happen when he is not surrounded by supporters, media and diplomats. “The Maduro regime has perfected the bureaucratization of repression.”
Guaido left Venezuela 10 days ago in an unsuccessful bid to force through desperately needed humanitarian aid stockpiled in Colombia.
He then went on a tour of regional allies Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador.
Guaido’s reappearance in Venezuela poses a direct challenge to Maduro, who had said the opposition leader would face justice when he returned.
Maduro must decide whether to arrest Guaido for defying a travel ban — thereby provoking strong international condemnation — or allow him to enter undisturbed, which would undermine his own authority, analysts said.
“They won’t stop us with threats, we’re stronger and more united than ever, and looking to the future,” Guaido told his supporters, holding up his passport in a message of defiance to Maduro’s government.
Other demonstrations took place all over Venezuela without major incident.
When he left Venezuela on Feb. 23, Guaido said the military had helped him cross the border into Colombia, even though he was under a travel ban, but the high command has professed absolute loyalty to Maduro and troops have blockaded border crossings to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid, supplied mostly by the US.
Guaido has said about 300,000 people are at risk of death without those supplies of food and medicine.
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