Venezuela’s ‘dictator’ Maduro is shunned by world leaders and threatened with sanctions as he is inaugurated for his second term in office
- Inauguration of Nicolas Maduro’s second term used to cut many diplomatic ties
- World leaders brand Venezuelan leader a dictator and undermine his legitimacy
- United States urged government employees to back the president’s opponents
- EU condemned condemned him as ‘non-democratic’ and threatened sanctions
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro was shunned by the world as leaders from across the globe threatened to impose sanctions and cut ties with the oil-rich country.
The Venezuelan leader celebrated the start to a second term as leader yesterday, but his world got smaller as countries seized upon the inauguration to cut back diplomatic ties, reject his legitimacy and label him a dictator.
The United States yesterday refused to recognise Maduro’s legitimacy as he started a controversial new term and urged rank-and-file government employees to empower the opposition.
The EU also condemned the president’s new term of office, saying it was based on ‘non-democratic elections’ and warned it was ready to impose fresh sanctions if Caracas further undermined democracy or human rights.
Once among Latin America’s wealthiest countries, Venezuela is enduring a historic crisis following two decades of socialist rule, with residents struggling to afford basic goods as inflation soars, driving mass migration.
President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores (front left) stand with Supreme Court President Maikel Moreno as they stop to greet flag-waving children upon arrival to the Supreme Court for his inauguration ceremony in Caracas yesterday
Supporters of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro gather to celebrate the inauguration ceremony of his second mandate, in Caracas
Maduro’s second six-year term extends the country’s socialist revolution amid widespread complaints that he has stripped the country of its last vestiges of democracy.
Seventeen Latin American countries, the United States and Canada denounced Maduro’s government as illegitimate in a measure adopted Thursday.
Maduro rejected the accusation, vowing to continue the legacy of the late President Hugo Chavez and accused the United States of trying to ignite unrest through its increasing economic sanctions.
‘Venezuela is the center of a world war led by the North American imperialists and its allies,’ he declared in a speech after his swearing-in. ‘They have tried to convert a normal inauguration into a world war.’
‘Venezuela is the centre of a world war with US imperialism and its satellite governments,’ the socialist leader retorted in a rambling speech which lasted around two hours.
A banner with an illustration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the phrase that reads ‘Dictator. Drug Trafficker – Killer’ is displayed as a group of detractors of Maduro protest near the Venezuelan Embassy in Santiago, Chile
Maduro, a 56-year-old former bus driver and Chavez’s hand-picked successor, took the helm of government after narrowly winning election following Chavez’s 2013 death. He denies being a dictator and often accuses President Donald Trump of leading an economic war against Venezuela that is destroying the country.
In May, Maduro declared victory following an election that his political opponents and many foreign nations consider illegitimate because popular opponents were banned from running and the largest anti-government parties boycotted the race.
On Thursday, the Organization of American States voted not to recognize the legitimacy of Maduro’s second term, adopting a resolution presented by Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the United States, Paraguay and Peru.
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Venezuela’s ambassador to the OAS, Samuel Moncada, denounced the move as ‘a hostile act … against the will of our nation.’
Paraguay went a step further, severing diplomatic ties. Peru also called home its top diplomat from Caracas in protest and banned 100 members of Maduro’s administration from entering the country.
Argentina suspended Venezuelan diplomatic and official passports for banned high-ranking members of Maduro’s administration from entering.
Supporters of Venezuela Maduro gather to celebrate the inauguration ceremony of his second mandate, in Caracas
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the United States would keep up pressure in support of the Venezuelan people.
‘It is time for Venezuelan leaders to make a choice,’ Pompeo said. ‘Now is the time to convince the Maduro dictatorship that the moment has arrived for democracy to return to Venezuela.’
Argentine President Mauricio Macri also denounced Maduro, saying he lacks the authenticity won through honest elections despite the elaborate inauguration ceremony.
‘Nicolas Maduro today is making a mockery of democracy,’ Macri said on Twitter. ‘Venezuelans know it, the world knows it. Venezuela lives under a dictatorship.’
Most countries from Europe and Latin American didn’t send representatives to the swearing-in.
Presidents Miguel Diaz-Canel of Cuba, Evo Morales of Bolivia and Anatoli Bibilov of a breakaway province of Georgia were among the few foreign leaders who attended the ceremony at the country’s Supreme Court.
U.S. calls on Venezuelans to work with the opposition to President Maduro
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Venezuelans to back Maduro’s opposition
The United States on Thursday refused to recognise Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s legitimacy and urged government employees to support the opposiotion.
‘The US will not recognise the Maduro dictatorship’s illegitimate inauguration,’ national security adviser John Bolton tweeted.
‘We will continue to increase pressure on the corrupt regime, support the democratic National Assembly, and call for democracy and freedom in Venezuela,’ he wrote.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Venezuelans to work not with Maduro but with the National Assembly, which is controlled by the opposition but has been sidelined by a new Constituent Assembly created by Maduro’s government.
‘We urge those who support this regime, from everyday employees getting by on food subsidies to the Venezuelan security forces sworn to support the constitution, to stop enabling repression and corruption and to work with the National Assembly and its duly elected leader, Juan Guaido, in accordance with your constitution on a peaceful return to democracy,’ Pompeo said in a statement.
‘The Venezuelan people and the international community will remember and judge your actions’ he said.
John Bolton said the US would not recognise Manduro
‘The Secretary reinforced the U.S. commitment to the National Assembly, the only legitimate and last democratically elected institution in Venezuela, and the re-establishment of democracy in Venezuela,’ spokesperson Robert Palladino added.
Maduro was sworn in for a second six-year term under a cloud of skyrocketing inflation, shortages of basic food and medicine and an exodus of Venezuelans to neighboring countries, following an election that was boycotted by the opposition.
The Lima Group – a bloc of 14 Latin American powers and Canada – urged Maduro to renounce his term and hand over power to parliament, although Mexico’s new leftist government stayed neutral.
The European Union has also said that last year’s election was marred by fraud and has extended sanctions.
The United States has for years put pressure on Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez, with President Donald Trump publicly musing about military intervention.
On Tuesday, the United States imposed its latest sanctions as it targeted seven Venezuelans allegedly involved in black-market currency exchanges that generated billions of dollars in illicit profits.
Venezuela, which sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves, produced 3.5 million barrels of crude daily when Chavez took power. Output has plummeted to less than a third of that. Critics blame years of rampant corruption and mismanagement of the state-run oil company PDVSA.
The economic collapse has thrown the nation of 30 million people into turmoil.
The economy in 2019 will continue to contract and inflation will skyrocket at a staggering 23 million percent, forecasts Francisco Rodriguez, a former Venezuelan official who is now chief economist at New York-based Torino Capital.
An estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled, according to the United Nations. Those remaining live on a monthly minimum wage equal to less than $5 and falling daily.
Venezuela’s splintered opposition movement has failed to counter the socialist party’s dominance as Maduro’s government has jailed or driven into exile its most popular leaders.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro makes a victory sign during his swearing-in ceremony at the Supreme Court in Caracas, Venezuela, yesterday
The opposition-led Congress opened its session for the year, led by 35-year-old Juan Guaido, who accused Maduro of ‘usurping the presidency.’
‘Today there is no head of state. Today there is no commander-in-chief,’ Guaido said.
The Trump administration has increased pressure on Maduro through financial sanctions, targeting dozens in Maduro’s government. U.S. banks are also banned from doing business with Venezuela, putting a financial strangle-hold on the cash-strapped country.
David Smilde, a Tulane University professor and expert on Venezuela, said that sanctions aren’t likely to create change. Ultimately, Maduro’s government isn’t worried about its international reputation, he said.
‘He still has control of the institutions,’ Smilde said. ‘He has the guns. He has the money.’
EU threatens President Maduro with new sanctions
President Nicolas Maduro was threatened with sanction by the EU
The EU condemned Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s new term of office as based on ‘non-democratic elections’ and warned it was ready to impose fresh sanctions if democracy or human rights were further undermined.
Firebrand socialist leader Maduro hit back demanding ‘respect’ from Brussels, which has repeatedly criticised the election that returned him to power.
The EU and its 28 member states shunned Maduro’s inauguration to a new six-year mandate on Thursday, as did most Latin American countries.
Speaking for the European Union, a statement by the bloc’s diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said the result of May’s elections ‘lacked any credibility’ and she condemned Maduro for ignoring international calls for new polls.
‘President Maduro is today starting a new mandate on the basis of non-democratic elections,’ the statement said.
‘This only pushes further away the possibility of a constitutional negotiated solution while the political, economic and social situation in the country keeps getting worse and the impact of the crisis in the stability of the region is increasing.’
‘Respect Venezuela, or history will make you pay for this debt sooner rather than later,’ he said.
‘European Union, stop! Don’t come here with your old colonialism, don’t come with your old aggressions… with your old racism.’
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said the result of Venezuela’s May’s elections ‘lacked any credibility’
Maduro was re-elected in polls boycotted by the majority of the opposition and dismissed as a fraud by the United States, European Union and Organization of American States.
His first term saw an exodus of millions of people escaping an economic meltdown that has plunged much of the oil-rich country’s population into poverty, suffering desperate shortages of basic foods and medicines.
The International Monetary Fund predicts that Venezuela’s economy will shrink by five percent next year, with inflation hitting a staggering 10 million percent.
Maduro’s inauguration took place in the Supreme Court rather than the sidelined, opposition-controlled parliament, which has refused to recognise him.
The EU has imposed sanctions on Venezuela over rights abuses, including an arms embargo and travel bans and asset freezes targeting 18 members of the Maduro regime.
Mogherini warned the bloc was ready to take further steps if matters got worse.
‘The EU will continue monitoring closely developments on the ground and stands ready to react through appropriate measures to decisions and actions that further undermine the democratic institutions and principles, the rule of law and human rights,’ she said in her statement.
While Maduro’s popularity has plunged amid scarcities, hyperinflation and rising authoritarianism that have sparked a mass emigration, supporters who receive government subsidies in shantytowns continue to back him.
‘It’s not the president’s fault,’ said Frances Velazquez, a 43-year-old mother of two who survives with the help of government-subsidized boxes of rice, flour and cooking oil. Velazquez blamed opportunists who drive up the prices of scarce items for making life difficult for families like hers.
Others, like 52-year-old construction worker Ramon Bermudez, have lost hope of escaping Maduro’s rule.
He pointed out the irony of living in a nation with the world’s most abundant oil reserves yet having to wait in line overnight to fill three small canisters of natural gas to cook at home.
‘All that’s left to do is raise your hand to heaven and ask God to help us,’ said Bermudez, camped out on a Caracas sidewalk with hundreds of others waiting for gas. ‘There’s nothing more.’
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