Venezuela mly slams Guaido over ‘coup’

CARACAS: Venezuela’s Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino late on Wednesday accused opposition leader Juan Guaido of launching a "coup d’etat" by proclaiming himself acting president in defiance of socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

Speaking at a press conference surrounded by top military brass, Padrino said Guaido, the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, was attempting a coup "against democracy, against our constitution, against the President Nicolas Maduro: the legitimate president."

Meanwhile, EU powers joined the United States and major South American nations in recognising an opposition figurehead as Venezuela’s interim leader on Thursday but China and Russia threw their weight behind its President Nicolas Maduro.

Here are some of the key reactions after the head of the legislature Guaido declared himself "acting president" on Wednesday. US President Donald Trump recognised Guaido as acting leader, declaring his National Assembly "the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people".

The US said it stood ready to use "all options" if Maduro tries to quash the opposition. China, Venezuela’s main creditor, "opposes interference in Venezuelan affairs by external forces," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news conference.

She said Beijing urged calm pending a "political resolution to Venezuela’s problem through peaceful dialogue within Venezuela’s constitutional framework." EU Council President Donald Tusk wrote on Twitter that "unlike Maduro, the parliamentary assembly, including Juan Guaido, have a democratic mandate from Venezuelan citizens."

EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini in a statement stressed EU support "for the restoration of democracy and rule of law in Venezuela through a credible peaceful political process in line with the Venezuelan constitution."

Russia viewed Guaido’s move as an "attempted usurpation of power" and a breach of international law, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The Russian foreign ministry warned that support for Guaido was a "direct path to lawlessness and bloodshed."

French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe favoured "the restoration of democracy" after what he called Maduro’s "illegitimate" election in May last year. Several of Venezuela’s regional neighbours said Maduro’s time was up.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said "Brazil will support politically and economically the process of transition so that democracy and social peace return to Venezuela". Colombian President Ivan Duque said his country was behind Guaido and will "accompany this process of transition to democracy so that the Venezuelan people free themselves of their dictatorship."

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru issued a joint statement endorsing Guaido as interim president. Cuba and Mexico offered Maduro support however. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel slammed "imperialist attempts to discredit and destabilise" Venezuela.

UN head Antonio Guterres appealed for dialogue to avoid "an escalation that would lead to the kind of conflict that would be a disaster for the people of Venezuela and for the region." Spain backed a European Union call for free elections to restore democracy. Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said the measure was the "only way out" of the impasse.