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Venezuelan opposition leader rejects mediation offers

Juan Guaido urged Mexico and Uruguay to back Venezuela’s struggle.

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Juan Guaido

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said he has turned down offers from the presidents of Mexico and Uruguay to negotiate with embattled Nicolas Maduro, a day before nationwide street protests called to escalate pressure on the socialist leader to step down.

In a letter to both presidents, Mr Guaido urged them to back Venezuela’s struggle, saying to remain neutral aligns them with Mr Maduro.

“At this historical moment that our country is going through, to be neutral is to be on the side of the regime that has condemned hundreds of thousands of human beings to misery, hunger and exile — including death,” he said.

Mr Guaido declared himself interim president last week before tens of thousands of cheering supporters and vowed to topple Mr Maduro’s administration, which he labelled a “dictatorship”.

Nicolas Maduro
Nicolas Maduro (Ariana Cubillos/AP)

His claim to the presidency is backed by the US and two dozen other nations.

The opposition’s priority is to end Mr Maduro’s grip on power and usher in a transition by holding democratic elections, Mr Guaido said in the letter to Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The US also rejects offers from Mexico, Uruguay and the Vatican to mediate a dialogue.

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton tweeted on Thursday that Mr Maduro and his advisers should retire to “a nice beach somewhere far away from Venezuela”.

Mr Bolton’s talk turned tougher on Friday in an interview with conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt in which he warned that it could be a beach area more like Guantanamo.

A defiant Mr Maduro remains dug in, blaming the White House for openly backing what he calls a coup to remove him from power and exploit his country’s vast oil wealth.

He retains support from powerful allies including Russia and China, but is growing increasingly isolated as more nations back Mr Guaido.

Mr Maduro on Friday continued a show of strength that has seen him criss-cross Venezuela to oversee military exercises in recent days as he vows to defend his socialist government no matter the cost.

“We’re in a historic battle,” he told several hundred troops standing in formation around armoured vehicles.

“We’re facing the greatest political, diplomatic and economic aggression that Venezuela has confronted in 200 years.”

The military’s top leadership is backing Maduro, though analysts warn that rank-and-file troops frustrated by their country’s economic and humanitarian crisis may not share that unwavering loyalty.

Protesters in Caracas
Protesters in Caracas (Fernando Llano/AP)

Venezuela’s opposition has called on supporters to flood the streets again on Saturday in nationwide protests against Mr Maduro, the second such mass action this week.

Mr Guaido led a peaceful demonstration on Wednesday with residents stepping out of their homes and workplaces for two hours. Last week, street protests turned violent in days of unrest that killed nearly three dozen people in clashes with government security forces.

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