National Assembly President Juan Guaido on Tuesday called for three days of protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, hours after he was sworn in for another term as the assembly leader following a standoff with the armed forces.
Guaido was barred from entering the assembly by the Venezuelan National Guard for about half an hour in dramatic and chaotic scenes, while a rival claimant to the president’s post occupied the chair.
“It’s time to stand up and to stand up with force,” Guaido said later at a news conference in Caracas. “We will mobilize for street protests on Thursday and Friday, and on Saturday we will all be in the streets.”
Photo: EPA
Guaido, the self-appointed acting president of Venezuela, leads the opposition to Maduro, who remains in power despite Guaido’s year-long effort to oust the man he calls a “usurper.”
The assembly is the only branch of government in opposition hands and Guaido holding the president’s post is important for the continuation of his struggle with Maduro.
Guaido is backed by the US and more than 50 other nations, but despite Venezuela’s economic collapse, Maduro appears entrenched with crucial support from the armed forces. He is also backed by China, Russia and Cuba.
“Here we are, showing our face,” Guaido said, taking his seat in the assembly after rival claimant Luis Parra and pro-government lawmakers left.
Lawmakers sang the national anthem, but electricity to the chamber was cut off, leaving deputies to use flashlights on their smartphones.
Guaido then raised his right hand and took the oath of office for another term as leader of the assembly.
Earlier, dozens of National Guard troops wearing helmets and carrying riot shields blocked Guaido from entering the building.
“These are not barracks,” Guaido shouted.
Some of his allies and journalists were also blocked from getting inside.
The opposition said on Twitter that four lawmakers were injured by “regime minions.”
Parra, an opposition legislator accused of corruption, on Sunday had declared himself speaker after the armed forces had prevented Guaido from entering the building.
Guaido had declared that he was re-elected to his post after holding a legislative session alongside loyal deputies at the offices of a pro-opposition newspaper.
Crisis-hit Venezuela has been in political turmoil since January last year when Guaido used his position as assembly president to declare himself acting president in a direct challenge to the authority of Maduro.
Washington on Tuesday said that it could ramp up sanctions against Venezuela, while US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo congratulated Guaido on his re-election.
“The Maduro regime’s campaign of arrests, intimidation and bribery could not derail Venezuelan democracy, nor could its use of military forces to physically bar the National Assembly from accessing the parliament building,” Pompeo said.
Speaking to state broadcaster VTV, Maduro called Pompeo a “failed clown” for supporting Guaido, whose swearing in as speaker was “a show.”
“The United States assumes it has the right to name the world’s legislatures with [their] threats,” he said.
Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza tweeted that the US must “now assume that its strategy against Venezuela failed. They have not shown any skills as puppeteers and they lost their main puppet.”
Parra was kicked out of his party last month after an online news site accused him of corruption linked to the overpricing of imported food.
He remains a deputy and Maduro recognized Parra’s election in a television address on Sunday, but even the president’s left-wing allies Argentina and Uruguay have denounced the move.
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