Washington assured that it will continue to coordinate its actions with sectors critical of the dictator Maduro, although it omitted to clarify his position regarding the figure of the displaced interim president.

The White House ratified this Wednesday its commitment to the Venezuelan opposition and assured that it will continue to coordinate both with Juan Guaidó and with “other democratic leaders who think similarly” in the country.

US government National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington continues to recognize the authority of the National Assembly established in 2015. “We recognize it as the last remaining democratic institution there,” he said.

In the announcement, however, he omitted to mention whether the United States still recognizes Juan Guaidó as interim president of the Latin American country.

These statements came after the State Department’s announcement on Tuesday, in which Ned Price stated that he respects the decision of the Venezuelan Assembly to suppress the interim government led by Juan Guaidó -whom the United States has been recognizing as interim president. official-.

The 2015 Assembly, whose mandate has already expired and which does not recognize the 2021 Legislative Assembly with an official majority, decided last Friday to abolish the Guaidó Executive, given that it no longer had effective power in the country -despite sustained support from Washington- .

Guaidó had assumed the position on January 23, 2019 and was able to count on the recognition of more than fifty countries. However, a large majority of 72 votes in favor against only 29 against and 8 abstentions determined that he ceased his duties.

“The interim did not meet its objectives”, were some of the arguments mentioned by the opposition during the virtual parliamentary session in which this decision was defined. Primero Justicia (PJ), Acción Democrática (AD) and Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT) were the parties that led the proposal to put an end to this “interim” after four years of a failed offensive to remove Nicolás Maduro from power.

For his part, Guaidó himself described this elimination as a “leap into the void” of the opposition. “Today a majority is making a decision, that they do not ask me to accompany, (…) in no way would I ask the Venezuelans to go back on the tools that we have achieved,” he said, adding that “I say to the dictatorship, here I am and here I will be. We are going to face them. I tell them that they have not won, nor will they win.”

In any case, Kirby stayed out of the reasons indicated in that meeting and recalled that Guaidó, as an opposition leader, continues to be a member of the organization and, therefore, “we are going to continue coordinating with him and other democratic leaders who think similarly and actors there in Venezuela to support the Venezuelan people.”

So far, the US spokesman has not provided definitions regarding what the next steps of the Joe Biden government will be in terms of supporting the opposition in Venezuela.

Price, for his part, did emphasize that the United States does not recognize Nicolás Maduro as the legitimate president of the Latin American country. “Our approach towards Nicolás Maduro is not changing. He is not the legitimate leader of Venezuela ”, he sentenced.

The opposition is currently planning primary elections for this 2023, with a view to the next presidential elections, scheduled for 2024.

Categorized in: