Venezuela crisis: US President Donald Trump speaks with Guaido, congratulates him
Washington, Jan 31 (IBNS): US President Donald Trump on Thursday called Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and congratulated him for being the country's leader amid unrest in the South American nation.
"Spoke today with Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido to congratulate him on his historic assumption of the presidency and reinforced strong United States support for Venezuela’s fight to regain its democracy," Trump tweeted.
"Large protests all across Venezuela today against Maduro. The fight for freedom has begun!," he said.
President Trump’s press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that during the call, Guaidó “noted the importance of the large protests across Venezuela against former dictator [Nicolás] Maduro, set to occur today and Saturday.”
Guaido recently declared himself as Venezuela's interim president.
The U.S. and other countries recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s leader last week, and the Trump administration has moved rapidly to shore up his government-in-waiting. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo granted Guaido access to Venezuelan accounts at U.S. financial institutions, and the administration has warned Maduro not to arrest or otherwise make a move against the opposition leader, reported Bloomberg.
Maduro recently cut off diplomatic relations with the US and even ordered the country's envoy to move out from the nation.
As per the Bloomberg report, the Trump administration increased pressure on Maduro this week, announcing sanctions on Venezuela’s central bank and the state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, effectively blocking his regime from exporting oil to the U.S.Trump on Wednesday claimed Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro has been forced to seek diplomatic solutions following US sanctions on the country's state-owned oil company PDVSA.
"Maduro willing to negotiate with opposition in Venezuela following U.S. sanctions and the cutting off of oil revenues. Guaido is being targeted by Venezuelan Supreme Court," tweeted Trump.The oil ban by the US will have an impact of other importers of Venezuela's oil, including India, that was the third largest importer of oil from the South American country after USA and China.
According to a Bloomberg report, India brought 340,000 barrels of crude oil a day on an average last year from Venezuela. Reliance and Nayara Energy, which have the technology to convert the thick Venezuelan crude into high-grade fuel can benefit from the excess availability of oil in the country.How China reacts to the development economically is yet to be seen.
Politically, China believes that Venezuela's affairs must and can only be decided by the its own people, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson as saying.Venezuela and protest:
Venezuela has witnessed protests since Jan 10 when Maduro began his second term.He was elected last year during a controversial vote in which many opposition candidates were barred from running, or jailed.
Nearly three million people have escaped Venezuela amid acute economic problems.Support Our Journalism
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