Venezuela crisis: European leaders oppose Maduro’s presidency

Madrid: The Prime Minister of Spain announced his government would officially recognize the legitimacy of the speaker of Venezuela’s National Assembly who recently proclaimed himself president of the South American nation unless the current government calls a new election within the next eight days. Sources in the Spanish Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that Pedro Sanchez would later be joined by other European leaders throughout the day in threatening to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as President of Venezuela instead of Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in on Jan 11 following his controversial reelection, Efe news reported. “Spain gives Nicolas Maduro eight days to call an election and if it doesn’t occur, we will recognize Juan Guaido as President,” Sanchez said during a press conference in Madrid.

Sanchez thus became the first of the European Union’s 28 heads of government to position himself before the bloc’s adoption of a common stance on the ongoing legitimacy crisis in Venezuela. The governments of France, Germany, the UK and Portugal on Saturday followed Spain in its eight-day demand to Maduro. To which Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza responded: “Europe is giving us eight days to what? Where do they get the idea they have the authority to give us ultimatums?”

Venezuela refused Saturday before the UN Security Council to hold new elections, as the European Union has requested, in order to resolve the crisis the country is going through, a matter that has divided the United Nations with a fierce standoff between the bloc led by the United States and the “illegitimate mafia state” of Nicolas Maduro, supported by Russia and China. (IANS)

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