President Donald Trump has issued his own personal travel warning, urging American citizens to avoid all travel to Venezuela as the South American nation is beset by a political crisis.
The country is currently witnessing a power struggle between long-time authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro and his rival, the 35-year-old self-declared interim president Juan Guaido, who leads the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
Guaido declared himself interim president last week, arguing that Maduro's presidential election victory in May 2018 was illegitimate because of opposition boycotts and electoral irregularities. He was quickly recognized as legitmiate president by Trump.
Maduro—who is backed by nations including Russia and China—has led Venezuela since replacing the left-wing revolutionary Hugo Chavez in 2013. Though he has said he is willing to negotiate with the opposition to end the crisis, the country's attorney general has announced an investigation into Guaido while the supreme court has imposed a travel ban on the young leader and frozen his bank accounts.
Early Wednesday morning, Trump wrote on Twitter: "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. Massive protest expected today. Americans should not travel to Venezuela until further notice."
The U.S. State Department has already issued a warning telling Americans not to travel to Venezuela, suggesting they could be at risk of "arbitrary arrest and detention."
Venezuela was already in the grips of a long-term economic crisis driven by falling oil prices and economic mismanagement. The national currency has become near worthless, the unemployment rate is spiralling and citizens are unable to access many vital food and medicine products.
Washington is turning the screws, hoping to destabilize Maduro enough to cause his support base to crumble. On Monday, National Security Advisor John Bolton and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced new sanctions against the country's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, in a bid to starve Maduro's regime of much-needed cash.
Thus far, Maduro has been able to retain power with the help of the country's powerful military, who have long been used to prop up his government and suppress dissent. But Guaido—who is backed by the U.S. and several other South American nations—is now calling on Venezuelans to rise up against the regime.
Guaido has asked supporters to take to the streets in mass protests on Wednesday and hand out pamphlets to soldiers, offering legal amnesty for any military personnel who abandon Maduro and lend support to the opposition. So far, at least 40 people have already been killed in clashes and demonstrations since Guaido's declaration, according to the United Nations.
On Wednesday, Maduro told the Russian state-backed RIA news agency that early presidential elections—demanded by Guaido and several European nations—will not be held. "Presidential elections in Venezuela have taken place, and if imperialists want new elections let them wait until 2025," he said, in an apparent reference to the U.S. and its allies.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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David Brennan is Newsweek's Diplomatic Correspondent covering world politics and conflicts from London with a focus on NATO, the European ... Read more
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