Juan Guaidó declared himself the legitimate president of Venezuela in January 2019. Now, he has been dumped by his own allies at home while his former backers in Washington appear eager to move on.
For four years, Juan Guaidó has embodied the audacious gamble by the U.S. government to unseat Venezuela’s autocratic leader and restore democracy to a once-prosperous, oil-rich nation mired in political and economic chaos.
Guaidó, at the time a minor opposition figure who was elected head of the National Assembly, declared himself the legitimate president of Venezuela in January 2019, after a national election, widely considered fraudulent, that Maduro used to claim victory and another term in the top office.For three years, Juan Guaidó has led the Venezuelan opposition’s efforts to bring about new elections and remove President Nicolás Maduro.
An odd parallel system emerged. Guaidó, now 39, and his supporters controlled many of Venezuela’s embassies and assets held abroad, including oil revenue from the Houston-based oil company Citgo and gold at the Bank of England. They had limited access to the money, which was used in part to finance their political activities.Four years later, Maduro, though unpopular, is as entrenched as ever, and the opposition has little to show for its efforts — it has, in fact, lost ground.
In March, Washington broke its diplomatic freeze of Caracas by sending a high-level delegation to negotiate the release of U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela, among other topics. Nine were eventually freed, and the Maduro government agreed to renew talks with the opposition. The U.S. slightly eased sanctions to allow energy giant Chevron to resume oil production in Venezuela. And some humanitarian aid flowed.
Lowenthal chaired a working group on Venezuela sponsored by the Wilson Center think tank that will release a major report later this month analyzing the dynamics in the beleaguered country and recommending steps for the U.S. government. “In terms of our approach to Nicolás Maduro, our approach has not changed,” Price added. “He is illegitimate. We support the 2015 National Assembly as the only remaining vestige of democracy in Venezuela.”John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, which has led the recent overtures to Caracas, said Wednesday that “Mr.
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