WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration ratcheted up pressure on Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday, announcing U.S. recognition of the country's opposition leader as interim president and signaling potential new sanctions against its vital oil sector.

With street protests against Maduro underway across Venezuela, Trump said the United States recognized Juan Guaido, head of the opposition-controlled Congress, as the country's leader and called socialist President Nicolas Maduro's government "illegitimate."

"I will continue to use the full weight of United States economic and diplomatic power to press for the restoration of Venezuelan democracy," Trump said in a statement, encouraging other governments in the Western Hemisphere to also recognize Guaido.

The administration had been waiting to issue its announcement after Guaido had been sworn in as the country's temporary president on Wednesday, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Venezuelan opposition sympathizers had been urging Guaido to assume the presidency since Maduro was inaugurated to a second term on Jan. 10 following a widely boycotted election last year that the United States and many other foreign governments described as a fraudulent.

Guaido, a newcomer on the national scene who was elected to head Congress on Jan. 5, had said earlier he was willing to replace Maduro if he had the support of the military, with the aim of then calling for free elections.

U.S. officials in recent days had stated openly that Maduro no longer had a legitimate claim on power.

The sources acknowledged that formal recognition of Guaido would be complicated by questions of how to deal with Venezuela's U.S.-based diplomats. Such a move could also backfire if Maduro took action to prevent Guaido from being sworn in or used it as a pretext to detain him again.

Adding to pressure on Maduro, multiple sources said the Trump administration could impose new U.S. sanctions on Venezuela's vital oil sector as soon as this week if the political situation there deteriorates further.

U.S. officials are considering a range of potential measures, including restricting U.S. imports of Venezuelan oil or even a full ban, to punish Maduro's government but no final decisions have been made as Washington closely watches the street protests unfolding in the country, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Two other sources briefed on the matter said the U.S. administration had privately informed U.S. energy companies of its deliberations.

The post Trump Recognizes Opposition Leader as Venezuela’s Interim President appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.</s>Tens of thousands of Venezuelans poured into the streets of Caracas and other cities Wednesday, waving flags and shouting slogans describing President Nicolás Maduro as a dictator who must step down. The demonstrations were timed to coincide with the anniversary of a 1958 coup that toppled military despot Marcos Pérez Jiménez.

The protesters have drawn the support of the U.S., which has called Maduro's presidency illegitimate.

They are led by Juan Guaidó, the 35-year-old recently elected head of the National Assembly who has urged Venezuela's military to join the opposition's cause. The leader of the Popular Will party also has called for a transitional government that would hold free elections within 30 days.

Guaidó tweeted Wednesday morning that protests were underway in Caracas and the coastal cities of Carúpano and Maracaibo, showing that his movement had reached distant locations. He used the protest hashtag #GritemosConBrio, which means "Let's cry out loud" and also is part of the chorus of the Venezuelan national anthem.

Saying she was speaking on behalf of the White House, Ivanka Trump tweeted out support for the movement. " POTUS, VP and the whole Administration stand with the people of Venezuela as they seek freedom from the oppression of dictator Maduro," she wrote.

In 2017, Maduro snuffed a 2017 attempt to oust him. Months of protests nationwide ended after more than 120 people were killed, mostly by security forces.

This round of protests began after Maduro took the oath of office for a second term Jan. 10. Observers said his election was illegitimate after his main opponents were barred from running.

Citizens burned trash and clashed with troops late Tuesday in some 60 working-class neighborhoods nationwide, Reuters reports. The Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, a body that monitors violence, says that a 16-year-old was killed overnight in Caracas.

Under Maduro's rule, Venezuela's economy has nosedived, inflation has soared, and basic foods and medical supplies have grown scarce. Millions of Venezuelans have fled the country, mostly to neighboring Columbia and Brazil as well as Ecuador, Peru and other Latin American countries. Most opposition leaders have been exiled, imprisoned or banned from running for office, John Otis reports for NPR.

Guaidó has breathed new life into the opposition, bringing together followers in town hall meetings called cabildos and pledging to bring about open, free elections. He has urged the military to abandon its loyalty to Maduro, offering amnesty to officers who turn against the president. On Wednesday, he repeated his call: "To all the armed forces, our call is very clear, from this parliament we shake your hands and ask you to stand with the Constitution and the people, your people," Guaidó wrote.

Much of the military has so far remained loyal to Maduro even though troops' salaries have shrunk due to inflation and their equipment has decayed amid the years-long economic crisis, Reuters reports. Maduro also has cultivated senior officers by lavishing them with privileges, including key posts within the lucrative state oil monopoly.

Venezuela's government said Monday it had put down a rebellion within the security forces. Officials said 27 national guardsmen were arrested after they allegedly kidnapped five officers, raided an outpost and stole weapons, NPR has reported. These mutineers were low-level officers, however, Reuters noted.

Wednesday's protests were expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people to the streets. Maduro has exhorted his supporters to turn out in rival demonstrations. "Men and women of the fatherland, be calm and mobilize the people to win peace and stability for Venezuela," Maduro wrote. "The streets belong to the people!"

Maduro has dismissed the National Assembly as "a group of little boys" masterminded by Washington imperialists and the far right, NPR has reported. Venezuela's Supreme Court, packed with Maduro loyalists, has declared Guaidó and the congressional leadership illegitimate. Security forces also briefly detained the opposition leader last week.

Brazil, Canada and the Organization of American States have recognized Guaidó as the head of Venezuela's government, according to Otis.

Vice President Pence extended his support to the National Assembly via a video with Spanish subtitles that he posted to Twitter on Tuesday.

"The United States supports the courageous decision by Juan Guaidó, the president of your National Assembly, to assert that body's constitutional powers, declare Maduro a usurper, and call for the establishment of a transitional government," Pence said. "On behalf of the American people, we say to all the good people of Venezuela, estamos con ustedes. We are with you."

"Yankee, go home," she added in a statement, according to the Telesur news service, which is partly funded by the Venezuelan government.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela — Amid sharply rising tensions between Washington and Caracas, the U.S.-backed opposition here sought Wednesday to fill the streets with protesters and spark the beginning of a sustained uprising aimed at ousting President Nicolás Maduro from office.

Overnight, the smaller-scale protests that began on Monday started to spread, with a throng of demonstrators in Bolivar state setting alight a statue of Hugo Chávez, the leftist firebrand who established Venezuela’s socialist state and anointed Maduro as his successor before dying of cancer in 2013.

By midday Wednesday, at least one protester was reported dead. Barely an hour after they began, Wednesday’s protests were shaping up to be the country’s largest in two years.

At least 43 people have been detained in protests since Monday, according to Foro Penal, a nonprofit legal firm that tracks and defends political prisoners.

The actions against Maduro took place as U.S. officials sought to undermine him. In a video, Vice President Pence on Tuesday called Maduro a “dictator with no legitimate claim to power” and backed the opposition protests as “a call for freedom.” Coming on the heels of a series of U.S. sanctions, the move prompted Maduro late Tuesday to order a “revision” of diplomatic ties with the United States.

The freshly re-energized Venezuelan opposition, meanwhile, faced a vital test on Wednesday in its effort to unseat Maduro, who was sworn in this month for a new six-year term after elections that were internationally condemned as a fraudulent power grab.

As people started to gather on a rainy Caracas morning, protests in some areas were being dispersed by security forces with tear gas. In eastern Caracas, people yelled: “Who are we? Venezuela. What do we want? Freedom.”

Washington has already thrown its support behind the new leader of the opposition, Juan Guaidó, a 35-year-old industrial engineer who heads the country’s National Assembly.

Stripped of its power by Maduro in 2017, the assembly is nevertheless widely recognized internationally as the only democratic institution left in the country. Now, Guaidó is seeking to unite an opposition long plagued by mismanagement and infighting and ignite the largest wave of protests here since 2017, when hundreds of thousands took the streets. That movement was ultimately crushed after official repression led to the deaths of more than 100 people.

One protester at Wednesday’s demonstrations, 32-year-old accountant Ailyn Arreaza, said she woke up at dawn to come to Caracas from a suburb 18 miles to the south. “My family motivates me, as well as my friends who left because of this. My husband is in Peru,” she said. “I march for him to come back, and for many other families to come back, too.”

Gabriela Aristimuño, a 40-year-old lawyer, escaped tear gas in western Caracas and quickly joined the crowd in the east. “Fear? No, nothing. Freedom and my children are all I care about,” she said. “I want everything I had before, before all this tragedy.”

The official state television channel, meanwhile, showed images of pro-Maduro crowds and urged viewers to join. “The streets belong to Chavismo,” the narrator said, referring to the government’s left-wing ideology and encouraging people to use that as a hashtag on Twitter.

At the pro-government demonstration, people wore red caps and listened to Maduro and Chávez campaign songs. “Yesterday there was an insolent call by the United States. Today we have to go out to defend the revolution,” said Guillermo Blanco, an employee of Venezuela’s state oil company. “We don’t take orders from anyone.”

Turnout will probably influence the momentum of the opposition and gauge whether it has been truly reborn with new leadership and growing international support.

“Today we will have the chance to reunite as one in all of Venezuela,” Guaidó tweeted Wednesday. “The eyes of the world will be on our homeland today.”

Backed by Russia, China and Cuba, Maduro has ordered the arrest, torture and exile of scores of opposition politicians. One day after Maduro’s swearing-in, however, Guaidó openly challenged his rule, saying he would be willing to become interim president if he won the support of the military, foreign powers and the people.

Since then, thousands of desperate Venezuelans confronting record levels of hyperinflation and fast-spreading hunger and disease have been showing up in cities across the nation to hear Guaidó’s speeches.

“Only if the protests are massive and cross-class could they demoralize and give pause to people in the military and within the ruling party,” said David Smilde, a Venezuela expert and sociology professor at Tulane University.

The military’s loyalty remains key to Maduro’s survival. A U.S. intelligence official told The Washington Post this month that Maduro’s defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, has privately told Maduro that he should step aside. And thousands of police and military rank and file have deserted their posts. But outward signs of division within the military have been limited.

Nevertheless, there are growing indications of cracks. On Monday, dozens of Venezuelan National Guard personnel stole arms from two Caracas units, kidnapped four officials, and recorded themselves in a northern slum urging people to join them in rebellion. The videos circulated on social media, but shortly afterward, the government announced the arrests of 27 dissenting officials.

That same day, hundreds of residents took to the streets as protests broke out in western slums across Caracas in the afternoon, continuing well past midnight.

On Tuesday night, spontaneous protests also erupted in more than 60 neighborhoods across the capital and in interior states. Many of the demonstrations were repressed by security forces with tear gas canisters and rubber bullets.

In the state of Bolivar, protesters burned the statue of late leader Chavez, and footage of the incident went viral on social media. In a western Caracas slum, one 16-year-old was reported dead after being shot at a demonstration, according to exiled lawmaker and doctor José Manuel Olivares, who said he received the information from the hospital that treated the boy.

The demonstrations led some observers to suggest that the poorest sectors of the capital could join the opposition’s traditional upper-class base in Wednesday’s protests — something that has rarely happened in the past.

“I’m tired,” said Gladys Ibarra, a 40-year-old informal merchant who was protesting in a northwestern Caracas slum. “I’m tired of not having water, energy. Tired of waking up at dawn trying to find gas to cook.”

The turnout is also likely to be closely watched in the United States and other nations that have been pressing for Maduro’s ouster. Colombia, Brazil and Chile have already joined the United States in offering support for Guaidó and refusing to recognize Maduro.

Luis Almagro, head of the Organization of American States, has gone as far as recognizing Guaidó as Venezuela’s “interim president” — a title that not even Guaidó himself has yet claimed. On Tuesday, the National Assembly named a “special representative” to the OAS. If the organization accepts the new appointment, it could further undermine Maduro’s ability to represent Venezuela internationally.

The heightened diplomatic war of words between Caracas and Washington was capped Tuesday by Pence’s sharply worded video, which included passages in Spanish. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Pence additionally lashed out at Maduro and vowed that “the U.S. will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles.”

“Mr. Maduro has exacerbated the country’s corruption and socialist policies, accelerating its descent from one of the richest countries in the Western Hemisphere to one of the poorest and most despotic,” Pence said.

Maduro responded late Tuesday, saying: “Never before has an official of such high rank gone out in the name of his government to say the Venezuelan opposition should overthrow the government.”

Maduro threatened diplomatic action against the United States “within hours.” As of early Wednesday, however, Venezuela had yet to announce concrete steps. The government did announce a counterdemonstration — a march for the fatherland — in which Maduro was scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. local time.

The two nations already maintain limited diplomatic relations. Although they both have operating embassies in each other’s capitals, they have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010.

Venezuela’s lifeblood is oil, and the United States remains its largest cash buyer. But Venezuela’s oil production has collapsed under Maduro. Currently, Venezuela sells around 500,000 barrels per day to the United States, or about half the volume of a decade ago.

Still, experts say it would be risky for Maduro’s government to wholly sever diplomatic relations. Such a move could give the Trump administration the trigger it has been looking for to take harsher steps, including freezing Venezuelan government accounts and instituting an oil embargo that would completely cut off the U.S. market.

A clean cut in diplomatic relations could also put at risk the Maduro administration’s control of Citgo, the U.S.-based oil firm owned by the Venezuelan government.

Yet taking such a radical step could also help Maduro mobilize Venezuelans against a common enemy to the north.

As Venezuelans weighed whether to join the protests, many feared that the pro-government security forces would deploy the same kind of violence now as they did in 2017. For many, that was too high a cost, especially after the opposition became ineffectual in the months that followed.

Yet Guaidó, who was briefly detained by the intelligence police on Jan. 14, has brought a new sense of hope to that disillusioned support base. Felix Seijas, a Caracas-based political analyst, said the outcome on Wednesday would show whether the opposition was able to “generate enough pressure” to escalate its bid to unseat Maduro.</s>BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government on Thursday called for democratic new elections in Venezuela, joining forces with the United States in saying it stood with the opposition-controlled National Assembly, not Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“With regard to #Venezuela, we are not neutral,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Twitter. “We support the National Assembly, which is elected by the people. Maduro has no democratic legitimacy as President.”

The United States on Thursday requested a public U.N. Security Council meeting on Venezuela, a day after recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president and urging other countries to do the same.

Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president on Wednesday, winning support from U.S. President Donald Trump and some Latin American countries. Maduro has responded by cutting diplomatic ties with the United States and ordering the country’s diplomats to leave.

Maas told Germany’s Deutsche Welle broadcaster on Thursday: “We are on (Juan) Guaido’s side,” the media group said in a posting on Twitter.

Germany, a non-permanent member of the Security Council, earlier said the National Assembly had a special role to play in securing a free future for Venezuela.

“The Venezuelan people are courageously committed to a free future for the country,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert tweeted. “This requires a political process that leads to free and credible elections. The democratically elected National Assembly has a special role to play here.”</s>(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump recognized Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela minutes after the opposition leader declared himself the head of state, in the U.S.’s most provocative move yet against the leftist regime of Nicolas Maduro.

Guaido, 35, is the president of the Venezuela National Assembly, which Maduro doesn’t recognize.

“In its role as the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people, the National Assembly invoked the country’s constitution to declare Nicolas Maduro illegitimate, and the office of the presidency therefore vacant,” Trump said in a statement. “The people of Venezuela have courageously spoken out against Maduro and his regime and demanded freedom and the rule of law.”

Shortly before Trump’s statement, Guaido said in a webcast from a protest in Caracas that he would assume the powers of the Venezuela presidency. He invoked a constitutional amendment that allows for the head of the legislature to lead a caretaker government until new elections can be held.

Read our Life in Caracas series here.

Since taking the helm of the legislature on Jan. 5, Guaido has aggressively pushed the military and the international community to recognize him as the rightful head of state.

“I swear to formally assume the powers of the national executive as interim president of Venezuela to achieve the end of the usurpation,” Guaido said on stage in East Caracas before thousands of Venezuelans who rallied around him on Wednesday. The crowd cheered and sang Venezuela’s national anthem after Guaido took the oath.

The U.S. has steadily expanded economic sanctions and denunciations of Maduro since Trump took office, all but urging that Venezuelans overturn their government. Venezuela’s dollar bonds, which have gained 25 percent on average this year, rallied further on Wednesday as the opposition increased pressure on Maduro. While most of Venezuela’s bonds are in default, investors believe regime change could usher in plans to fix the economy and restructure the debt.

The Trump administration has also prepared to sanction crude oil exports from the country, according to people familiar with the matter, but hasn’t decided whether to take that step. Maduro’s reaction to Guaido’s move will help dictate whether the administration enacts the sanctions, the people said.

White House officials already warned some U.S. refiners earlier this month that the Trump administration was considering sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports and advised them to seek out alternative sources of heavy crude.

Oil companies have beseeched the Trump administration not to take the step, warning the action could disadvantage Gulf and East Coast refiners designed to handle the country’s heavy crude and cause gasoline prices to spike.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence called this week for the Venezuelan people to “make your voices heard.”

“Nicolas Maduro is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power,” Pence said in a video posted Tuesday on social media, a day ahead of nationwide protests called by Guaido to rally an opposition demoralized by the Maduro government’s oppressive tactics and the nation’s shattered economy.

The country’s loyalist Supreme Court has announced that it would depose Guaido and nullify the assembly’s motion declaring Maduro’s rule invalid. The U.S. move to recognize Guaido risks a backlash, as Maduro is sure to warn that American “Yankees” are backing a coup against his government. But even pointing to a checkered history of U.S. involvement in Latin American political affairs has worn thin for many Venezuelans and opponents of Maduro throughout the region.

“We encourage other Western Hemisphere governments to recognize National Assembly President Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela, and we will work constructively with them in support of his efforts to restore constitutional legitimacy,” Trump said. “We continue to hold the illegitimate Maduro regime directly responsible for any threats it may pose to the safety of the Venezuelan people.”

Guaido has sought a transition government and has called for new elections. Guaido and his supporters say Maduro’s latest term is illegitimate; about 60 countries concluded the election was fraudulent.

Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who has pressed for U.S. action against Maduro, praised Trump’s move.

“During our various conversations on Venezuela the president has made it clear that he will use the full weight of the United States to press for the restoration of democracy and constitutional legitimacy in Venezuela,” Rubio said in a statement. “I also know the president will hold the illegitimate Maduro regime directly responsible for any actions taken against President Guaido, members of the National Assembly, and peaceful protestors.” To contact the reporters on this story: Margaret Talev in Washington at mtalev@bloomberg.net;Andrew Rosati in Caracas at arosati3@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Larry Liebert, Alex Wayne For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com</s>CARACAS, Venezuela — A group of soldiers turned against the government and declared allegiance to the opposition. Foreign officials say the government could soon run out of money to meet bare-bones needs. And countries across the region have called the president an illegitimate dictator.

Conditions in Venezuela have deteriorated to a point where the opposition — gutted by the jailing and exiling of many of its leaders and discredited after several failed efforts to oust President Nicolás Maduro — is seeing an opportunity. Leading them is a virtually unheard-of 35-year-old, Juan Guaidó.

His debut as opposition leader and head of the National Assembly this month has captured the attention of those within the country and outside of it — mainly for his striking claim that Mr. Maduro is not a legitimate ruler and his willingness to take charge of a transitional government.

“The relationship between Venezuela and its state today is one of terror,” Mr. Guaidó said in an interview. “When this happens, the voices and hopes of the world, their messages, are the encouragement for the daily struggle to resist — to dream of democracy, and for a better country.”</s>BRUSSELS: The United States, Britain and major South American nations recognised opposition chief Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim leader on Thursday (Jan 24) but China and Russia threw their weight behind embattled President Nicolas Maduro.

Here are some of the key reactions after parliamentary speaker Guaido declared himself "acting president" of Venezuela 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.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Maduro against the use of force, saying "the time for debate is done" and calling the regime "illegitimate".

The US has requested a UN Security Council meeting on the crisis in Veneuela.

Britain joined the US in declaring that Maduro was "not the legitimate leader of Venezuela", and backing Guaido.

"The United Kingdom believes Juan Guaido is the right person to take Venezuela forward. We are supporting the US, Canada, Brazil and Argentina to make that happen," Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a statement - diverting from the cautious approach of other Europe leaders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Maduro and expressed "support for the legitimate authorities of Venezuela in the context of a domestic political crisis that has been provoked from the outside," the Kremlin said.

Putin said any intervention by other countries "violates the fundamental norms of international law", according to the statement.

The Russian foreign ministry warned that support for Guaido was a "direct path to lawlessness and bloodshed".

She said Beijing urged calm pending a "political resolution to Venezuela's problem through peaceful dialogue within Venezuela's constitutional framework".

The European Union reacted cautiously to the fast-moving crisis.

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".

French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe favoured "the restoration of democracy", stressing the need for new elections after what he called Maduro's "illegitimate" election in May last year.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stressed the need for "free elections" in Venezuela in a telephone call to Guaido, the Spanish government said.

Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said an election was the "only way out" of the impasse.

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."

Cuba offered Maduro support, however. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel slammed "imperialist attempts to discredit and destabilise" Venezuela.

The leaders of Uruguay and Mexico urged "all parties involved, in and outside the country, to reduce tensions and avoid an escalation of violence that could worsen the situation... Both countries propose a new, inclusive and credible negotiation process, with full respect for human rights and the rule of law."

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."</s>Juan Guaido, head of Venezuela's opposition-run congress, speaks to supporters at a rally where he declared himself interim president until new elections can be called in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. The opposition rally was called to demand President Nicolas Maduro's resignation. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A 35-year-old opposition leader who up until two weeks ago was a complete unknown to the vast majority of Venezuelans has declared himself the embattled nation's interim president as leader Nicolas Maduro clings to power. Here's a look at what happened in Venezuela on Wednesday:

After years of infighting, Venezuela's opposition united behind Juan Guaido earlier this month and began calling for mass protests to be held Wednesday demanding President Nicolas Maduro give up power after being sworn in for a contested second term Jan. 10.

Though the opposition has struggled to motivate tired and skeptical Venezuelans since months of unrest in 2017 resulted in 120 dead, Guaido managed to strike a nerve by laying out in simple terms a plan of action for a new government.

He argued to Venezuelans that as president of the National Assembly, he has the authority under the constitution to step in when the chief executive office is vacated. He contends Maduro's re-election last May was fraudulent and should not be recognized.

On Wednesday, tens of thousands heeded the call to take to the streets across Venezuela, a turnout fed by widespread anger over Venezuela's runaway inflation and shortages of food and medicine.

Guaido capped the protest with a speech before a swarm of supporters in which he took a symbolic oath swearing himself in as interim president, saying he was upholding the constitution by assuming the top post.

Dressed in jeans and a blue blazer, the young leader told a jubilant crowd that he would work to restore democracy and continue fighting until all Venezuelans have bread on the table, electricity at home and medicine in their hospitals.

The Trump administration quickly responded by recognizing Guaido as president. Over a dozen nations in the region followed suit.

Only a handful of countries that have long backed Maduro said they would continue to back the socialist leader as president.

Guaido has already begun taking action as if he is president. However, neither the military nor any branch of government aside from the opposition-controlled legislature have signaled that they will recognize him as leader.

The socialist leader who took the helm of Venezuela's presidency following the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013 announced that he was severing diplomatic relations with the United States in response to its recognition of Guaido.

In a speech from a balcony of the presidential palace, Maduro stood by his position that he was legitimately elected and gave U.S. diplomats 72 hours to leave the nation. Socialist party heavyweight Diosdado Cabello and other high-ranking allies pledged to stand behind Maduro and denounced Guaido.

Adding to the growing confrontation, the U.S. government announced Wednesday night that it will ignore Maduro's order and keep its diplomats in Caracas.</s>BRUSSELS: The United States and major South American nations recognised Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim leader Wednesday while the UN urged dialogue in Caracas to avoid "disaster", leaving President Nicolas Maduro increasingly isolated.

Major regional players Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Argentina all gave their backing to Guaido's self-proclamation as acting president, which he made in front of crowd of tens of thousands of supporters in the capital Caracas.

The European Union called for free elections to restore democracy.

Russia however lashed out at Western countries and Cuba and Turkey expressed "solidarity" with Maduro while Mexico extended lukewarm support to him.

In Moscow, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticised the international community saying events in Venezuela "show clearly the attitude of the progressive international community towards international law, sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of a country where it seeks a change in power."

But the avalanche of support for Guaido dramatically raised the stakes in Venezuela, an oil-rich nation that has become deeply impoverished under Maduro.

Maduro has clung to power through the support of the Venezuelan military, and is a socialist ally of Russia, which last month sent two nuclear-capable bombers to the country to participate in a military drill.

Just minutes after Guaido's declaration, US President Donald Trump recognised him as interim leader, and declared his National Assembly was "the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people".

"The people of Venezuela have courageously spoken out against Maduro and his regime and demanded freedom and the rule of law," Trump said.

The US said it stood ready to use "all options" if Maduro tries to quash the opposition, in an implied threat of military force.

Maduro responded saying he was cutting off diplomatic ties with Washington, as his riot police clashed with opposition supporters in Caracas.

"Get Out! Leave Venezuela. Here we have dignity, damn it," Maduro said, giving US diplomats 72 hours to depart.

But Guaido tweeted in response that, under him, Venezuela wants countries "to maintain their diplomatic presence in our country".

And the US State Department said "former president Maduro" did not have the authority to sever relations.

"What we hope is that dialogue can be possible, and that we 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," he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Tweeting from the Swiss ski resort, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said: "Brazil recognises Mr. Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president."

He added that "Brazil will support politically and economically the process of transition so that democracy and social peace return to Venezuela".

Bolsonaro, a far-right former paratrooper who has set about forging close ties with the Trump administration since taking power at the beginning of January, has repeatedly vowed to challenge Maduro in any way he can.

Colombian President Ivan Duque, another US ally also at Davos, 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".

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland expressed "full support" for Guaido, adding: "It's an important day for Venezuela and I'm grateful for the solidarity of the Lima Group in speaking out on this."

Eleven members of the 14-nation Lima Group - Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru - later issued a joint statement endorsing Guaido as interim president.

The three holdouts included Mexico, which has maintained a principle of non-intervention under leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, as well as Guyana and Saint Lucia.

The United States is not a member but supports the group, which has taken an increasingly strident stance against Maduro, whom it sees as anti-democratic.

The European Union did not join the countries lining up behind Guaido but called for "free and credible elections".

"The EU strongly calls for the start of an immediate political process leading to free and credible elections, in conformity with the constitutional order," the bloc's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

The UE member states "remain ready to support the restoration of democracy and rule of law in Venezuela through a credible peaceful political process in line with the Venezuelan constitution", she added.

EU Council President Donald Tusk tweeted that "I hope that all of Europe will unite in support of democratic forces in Venezuela".

He added: "Unlike Maduro, the parliamentary assembly, including Juan Guaido have a democratic mandate from Venezuelan citizens."</s>Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó has declared himself interim president of the beleaguered South American country, in a dramatic escalation of efforts to force President Nicolás Maduro from power.

Before thousands of protesters in the capital Caracas, the 35-year-old lawmaker raised his right hand and said he was “formally assuming the responsibility of the national executive”.

Guaidó, the head of the opposition-run congress, has said he would be willing to assume the presidency on an interim basis with the support of the armed forces to call elections.

The move was immediately welcomed by Donald Trump who called on other countries in the western hemisphere governments to recognize Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela.

“In its role as the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people, the National Assembly invoked the country’s constitution to declare Nicolas Maduro illegitimate, and the office of the presidency therefore vacant. The people of Venezuela have courageously spoken out against Maduro and his regime and demanded freedom and the rule of law,” Trump said in a statement.

“We continue to hold the illegitimate Maduro regime directly responsible for any threats it may pose to the safety of the Venezuelan people,” he said.

The move comes as tens of thousands joined marches across the country’s capital in what opponents of Nicolás Maduro hope will prove a turning point for the country’s slide into authoritarianism and economic ruin.

Venezuela’s president, who started his second term on 11 January after disputed elections, is facing a reinvigorated opposition as well as increasing international hostility from the rightwing governments of the US, Brazil and Colombia.

Wednesday’s march follow two nights of violent protests in working-class neighbourhoods of Caracas – once bastions of support for the government – and the apparent foiling of an armed uprising by members of the national guard.

Early on Wednesday, protesters in eastern Caracas braved an early morning downpour, shouting in unison: “Who are we? Venezuela! What do we want? Freedom!”

An opposition member holds a Venezuelan national flag during a protest march against Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on Wednesday.

In the centre of the capital, riot police flanked by water tanks and lightly armored vehicles had already been deployed to the central Plaza Venezuela square.

Other protests were planned across the country and outside embassies around the world.

Guaidó repeated calls for members of the security forces to withdraw their support for Maduro. “The world’s eyes are on our homeland today,” he said in an early-morning tweet.

Relatively unknown until this month, Guaidó appears to have reinvigorated Venezuela’s opposition which has long been racked by infighting. Ahead of Maduro’s inauguration, Guaidó described the leader as a “usurper” and declared himself ready to assume the presidency until open elections could be held.

Wednesday also marks the anniversary of the 1958 uprising that overthrew the military dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez – a symbolism that was not lost on María de Jesús, a social worker from Caracas who was born on the day of the 1958 rebellion.

“I was born in democracy,” she said on her way to the march in Caracas. “I want my freedom; this is a dictatorship.”

Across town, several hundred supporters held a rival march in support of Maduro. Though it was dwarfed in size by the opposition protest, those in attendance were in a buoyant mood.

“We are here to support our president and defend our resources,” said Ana Media, who works for the state oil company PDVA, as salsa music blasted from loudspeakers. “We know that other countries are against Maduro because they want to take over our resources.”

Oil-rich Venezuela is mired in economic and political turmoil, with hyperinflation rendering the bolivar currency practically worthless. Shortages in food staples and basic medicines are rampant, and crime is widespread. More than 3 million Venezuelans have fled, causing consternation across the continent.

Analysts have long held that Maduro’s survival depends on the backing of the military, who he has rewarded with senior positions in government and the state oil company PDVSA.

But it is unclear how solid that support is. Guaidó and the opposition-held national assembly have sought to peel away the military, offering an amnesty to members of the armed forces who help bring about a return to democracy. This week, authorities arrested 27 national guardsmen who tried to launch an uprising against Maduro.

In Ciudad Guayana, a north-eastern city, a statue of Hugo Chávez – Maduro’s late predecessor and the figurehead of Venezuelan socialism – was burned, cut in half and the bust hung from a bridge on Tuesday night.

Maduro has accused the opposition of fomenting violence. “I demand the full rigor of the law against the fascists,” he said on Tuesday night. His allies have also threatened the use of armed pro-government militias – known as colectivos – to quell disturbances.

The United States, long fiercely opposed to Maduro, has thrown its support behind the opposition. “President Trump and the US stand resolutely with the Venezuelan people as they seek to regain their liberty from dictator Nicolás Maduro,” Vice-President Mike Pence wrote in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

A previous spate of protests in 2017 left at least 120 dead and hundreds more injured, after Maduro dispatched the national guard. Human rights watchdogs and international observers are readying for a similar crackdown on Wednesday.

Foro Penal, a local watchdog, reported on Wednesday morning that 30 protestors had been arrested overnight. Local journalists alleged that authorities in Caracas had attempted to confiscate their equipment.
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó swears himself in as President of Venezuela, with de facto President Nicolás Maduro not recognizing this.