With humanitarian aid en route, opponents prepare presidential elections

Faced with the urgency of preparing for the presidential elections as soon as possible, the National Assembly of opposition leader Juan Guaidó on Tuesday approved the law that would govern the "political transition" if the government Nicolás Maduro was due to end. The new standard, approved by the majority of the opposition, establishes that the presidential elections take place as soon as conditions allow, within a maximum period of 12 months after the establishment of the transitional government and after the appointment of new members of the other powers.

Guaidó declared himself interim president of Venezuela on January 23 arguing that Maduro badumed his second term after an illegitimate election. Maduro states that he was elected according to law and accuses the United States, the European Union and most Latin American countries of orchestrating a coup d'etat . Opposition lawmakers also spoke of the need to establish a new National Electoral Council, currently composed of five directors, four of whom are considered by many Venezuelans as supporters of the government.

The debate in the National Assembly took place the day after more than two dozen countries of the The European Union, led by Germany, Spain, France and Britain, will publicly support Guaidó after the expiry, Sunday, of the ultimatum given to Maduro to call for elections. Guaidó enjoys the support of other countries in this region, including countries not belonging to the European Union such as Kosovo, Macedonia, Iceland and Albania . Maduro rejected the ultimatum and announced in a statement that he will discuss relations with these countries.

In Latin America, pressure against the Venezuelan government is not weakening either. On Tuesday afternoon, Colombian President Iván Duque stressed at a meeting with businessmen that the benefits of having elections in Venezuela would not only benefit that country, but also theirs. . "If democracy and hope return to Venezuela, it will open a market of over $ 7 billion that Colombia lost due to the ravages of tyranny," he said.

A few hours later left-wing political and social organizations they mobilized Tuesday at the US Embbady in Buenos Aires to repudiate the interference of American diplomacy in the region. "Nobody with two fingers can believe that Donald Trump is seeking a democratic solution" in Venezuela, said Juan Grabois, leader of the movement Frente Patria Grande, one of the organizers of the march. "If people do not react, we will not be able to stop it," he warned.

In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo and Brazilian Ernesto Araújo, who had attended the Lima Group meeting yesterday in the Canadian capital, received separately on Tuesday afternoon. Trujillo ruled out that humanitarian aid involves the deployment of Colombian troops and Araújo responded categorically that "this is not envisaged" by questioning him about the possibility of a military option before the Venezuelan crisis.

Humanitarian aid en route

The Assembly also discussed the entry of humanitarian aid into the country and prepares to receive the first consignments that will enter the Colombian city of Cucuta and on the border with Brazil, facing the rejection of Maduro and the Supreme Court of Justice. The highest court, controlled by the government, said that the initiative of opposition legislators to admit international aid was going against the laws and the constitution .

"Here in Venezuela, no one will enter, nor an invading soldier," Maduro said.to which opposition MP Miguel Pizarro, coordinator of the plan, ironically replied: "They want to tell the world that humanitarian aid is an overlap so we can put a double sailor in a box so he can take then the power by the arms "

The United States, which does not exclude armed action in Venezuela, offered initial badistance of $ 20 million, Canada $ 40 million and the European Union on Tuesday approved a budget of $ 7.5 million. d 'euros, a "support" for Maduro. In his speech to the Congress on the State of the Union, Trump confirmed that he was supporting "the Venezuelan people" and condemned "the brutality of the Maduro regime".

Guaidó, 35, called for a mobilization on February 12 and another date to be set for force the army, Maduro's main supporter, to let in the help. "There are between 250,000 and 300,000 Venezuelans at risk of dying, the first contribution is for this most vulnerable population," said Guaidó. The opponent denounced the fact that the army will be condemned not to leave the aid or steal it for distribution in government programs. "Do not cross this red line," warns Pizarro.

S.D.