Trump administration to keep backing Venezuelan opposition figure: Official
The administration of US President Donald Trump will continue to extend support to Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido even after the upcoming parliamentary elections in Venezuela that the opposition plans to boycott, an American official says.
Elliott Abrams, the US special representative on Venezuela, told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that “today and after January 5, 2021,” when the terms of the opposition members of the Venezuelan parliament end, the Trump administration would continue to support Guaido as the “president” of Venezuela.
Abrams said he expected the dozen other countries that had aligned their foreign policy with that of the US to continue recognizing Guido as the Latin American country’s leader even after that date.
His comments came after more than two dozen Venezuelan opposition parties announced their plans to boycott the December 6 elections.
Guaido unilaterally declared himself “interim president” of Venezuela last January. A number of Western governments opposed to the elected, leftist government of President Nicolas Maduro quickly recognized Guaido as such.
The low-profile opposition figure later launched an abortive coup with the backing of the United States and a number of rogue soldiers.
Ever since, governments opposed to Maduro have been blocking Venezuelan cash and other assets in their territories and redirecting them to Guaido.
Maduro has maintained his elected presidency despite the intense pressure exerted by the Trump administration and US allies to drive him from power or to entice Venezuela’s powerful military to abandon the government.
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