Juan Guiado recognized as interim president of Venezuela by European nations



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This coordinated action took place after President Nicolas Maduro had ignored the request by some EU countries to hold early elections by the end of Sunday. Spain, the United Kingdom, France and Germany have been among the European nations to recognize the legitimacy of Guaido.

"We will devote all our efforts to the peace, freedom and harmony of the Venezuelan people," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. He called on Guaido to organize "free and democratic presidential elections, with guarantees and without exclusions".

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Twitter that the United Kingdom would recognize Mr Guaido as interim president "until credible elections can be held". A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May added that sanctions against Venezuela were also on the table, pointing out that the Maduro regime was due to end.

Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Estonia and Sweden also stated that they would recognize Guaido as Acting President of the Venezuela.

Addressing reporters outside the National Assembly in Caracas on Monday, Mr Guaido said the recognition he had received from some EU countries was significant for all of them. Venezuelans.

"This recognition of more than 20 countries is a recognition for all Venezuelans who have never stopped fighting and we will not stop doing it until we have found our democracy and our freedom in Venezuela. "Guaido said.

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry denounced the wave of support for Guaido, suggesting that European governments were acting as part of an effort by the United States to overthrow Maduro.

"The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically rejects the decision adopted by some European governments, in which they have formally integrated into this strategy led by the US administration to overthrow the legitimate government of President Nicolas Maduro – elected by the Venezuelan people of sovereign, free and independent democratic way, "said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.

A crowd surrounds Juan Guaido during a protest against Maduro on Saturday.

Maduro rejected the "ultimatum" set by European leaders, saying the previous elections that had led to a new six-year term were fair. "We do not accept anyone's ultimatums," Maduro said in an interview with Spanish television channel LaSexta on Sunday.

It was not clear why the EU as a whole did not recognize guaido. Federica Mogherini, head of the EU's foreign policy, said here Monday that the EU had never recognized legitimate elections in Venezuela, but that the decision to recognize a leader of the EU's foreign affairs policy is still unclear. State was left to the appreciation of its own members.

A "peaceful and political process"

European leaders welcomed a newly formed "international contact group" to meet on Thursday in Montevideo, Uruguay, to discuss a "peaceful and political process" to end the crisis in Venezuela.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France supports the group of EU and Latin American countries and their role in Venezuela's transition period, after recognizing Guaido as "acting president" in a tweet.

Juan Guaido greets thousands of people at a rally in the capital Caracas on Saturday.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday that the decision to recognize Guaido was "not a foreign interference", as suggested by Russia, one of the Maduro's main allies.

Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday condemned Europe's interference in the oil-rich country as "legitimizing the usurped authority."

Russia and China, which together invested billions of dollars in Venezuela, continued to support Maduro.

China said Monday that, no matter the outcome of the current political crisis, cooperation with Venezuela would not be damaged.

Humanitarian aid

Since he declared himself acting president on January 23 – invoking a constitutional rule to launch a rare challenge to Maduro's presidency – the Guaido leadership had already been recognized by Canada, the United States , Australia and a number of countries in Latin America.

On Monday, Canada hosted a meeting of the Lima Group regional bloc to discuss how the international community can further badist the people of Venezuela, including through immediate humanitarian badistance.

In opening a session in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a contribution of $ 53 million ($ 40.4 million) to Venezuela.

The group also issued a statement in which it hailed the Venezuelan interim government as a full member and called on the country's armed forces to show loyalty to Guaido, said Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs. Chrystia Freeland.

Supporters of Guaido hold huge Venezuelan flags during a protest against Maduro on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Germany had allocated € 5 million ($ 5.72 million) in aid to Venezuela. Later Monday, Guaido said that Germany had announced a contribution of 6 million euros ($ 6.86 million).

USAID has already started packing pallets of food products following last week's announcement by National Security Advisor John Bolton of the dispatch of humanitarian aid.

Guaido said humanitarian aid would start flocking to Venezuela in the coming days, defying Maduro's repeated refusal to face a shortage of food and medicine. He presented this initiative as part of a plan to get the military to cooperate with the opposition.

Focusing on the need for help, Guaido told reporters: "It's an emergency, it's a crisis, we announce it immediately and we take the determination to make it happen in the country and that it be distributed efficiently and where it is needed most. "

Calling on the Venezuelan military's conscience to bring humanitarian aid to the country, Guaido said on Twitter: "Everything is ready, the question is here for all military officers: Soldier, go you refuse the humanitarian aid of your family? I call once again to your conscience, this help is to save lives. "

In addition to focusing on aid, Guaido also said his team would focus on demanding the freeze of Venezuelan badets in the EU.

Maduro repeatedly denied that Venezuela was in crisis, suggesting that aid efforts were part of an international plan to destabilize its socialist regime. During Maduro's tenure as president, this once-rich oil nation sank into an economic meltdown and a humanitarian crisis.

On Monday, Guaido paid tribute to the victims of recent protests in Caracas, saying 69 people were killed this year in the country for political reasons.

He also said that there was no possibility of civil war. "It's a farce, that Maduro wants to try to sell."

Claudia Rebaza, Arnaud Siad and Stephanie Halasz contributed to this report.

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