Venezuela’s ambassador to Iraq becomes first diplomat to back Guaido as air force general calls for Maduro to resign and huge rival protests are held in Caracas
- Jonathan Velasco Ramirez becomes first Venezuelan diplomat to defect, renounce President Nicolas Maduro
- The Venezuelan ambassador to Iraq posted a video on social media declaring support for Juan Guaido
- General Francisco Yanez posted a video recognizing Guaido, the self-declared Venezuelan acting president
- Tens of thousands of hard-working Venezuelans poured onto the streets Saturday to protest their president
- Maduro has been told to hold elections after his socialist dictatorship brought the country to its knees
- Meanwhile Maduro made first public appearance since August at rally marking Hugo Chavez’s rise to power
Venezuela’s ambassador to Iraq has declared his support for National Assembly President Juan Guaido, who has claimed to be the legitimate leader of the South American country.
In a video message which was circulated on social media on Saturday, Jonathan Velasco Ramirez was the first high-ranking diplomat from Caracas to renounce the sitting President, Nicolas Maduro, and defect.
‘The National Assembly is the only power of the Republic which has ethics, legitimacy and legality,’ Ramirez said in a statement which was broadcast on the Colombian network RCN Radio.
‘We, diplomats based abroad, acting on behalf of the State, swear to defend the 1999 Constitution as a mandate from the original constituent power that had the support of almost the entire Venezuelan population.
‘Our place is next to the people, the Republic, the Constitution and the National Assembly, the only legitimate, legal and constitutional power that survives in Venezuela and responsible for filling the void created by the violation of the constitution.
In a video message which was circulated on social media on Saturday, Jonathan Velasco Ramirez, Venezuela’s ambassador to Iraq, was the first high-ranking diplomat from Caracas to renounce the sitting President, Nicolas Maduro, and defect
‘Supporting the president of the National Assembly is our obligation, duty and constitutional responsibility.’
The Venezuelan envoy to Iraq said that Guaido had the right and the ‘constitutional duty to assume the Presidency of the Republic.’
‘Mr. President, Guaidó, you are on the right side of history, the people and the Constitution, which is why we place you at the service of the State, which you constitutionally represent and direct,’ he said.
Ramirez called on other senior government officials to renounce Maduro and throw their support behind Guaido.
‘We call upon all those citizens who have exercised or exercise functions of State and Government to reflect and, in defense of the Constitution and the people, take a step forward with the sole intention of being on the side of the Constitution, history and the people,’ he said.
‘Maduro and his clan of usurpers overcame a barrier that breaks the permissible limit of being a State official and another an accomplice of a usurper, despotic, autocratic and dictatorial government.’
Ramirez finally urged the military to overthrow Maduro.
‘Brothers of the Armed Forces, do not allow them to turn them into an army of mercenaries who kill the people,’ he said.
Venezuelan Air Force High Command General Francisco Yanez published a video on social media of himself recognizing self-declared Venezuelan acting president Juan Guaido and disavowing socialist leader Nicolas Maduro
Earlier on Saturday, a high-ranking Venezuelan air force general called on the armed forces to rebel against Maduro and recognize Guaido as the interim chief as huge crowds rallied against the head of state in the capital Caracas.
Military support is crucial for the embattled Maduro, who is deeply unpopular largely due to an unprecedented economic crisis that has prompted an exodus of millions.
As pressure mounts on Maduro to step down, the President still refuses to cede control of the South American republic, claiming he is victim of a coup directed by the United States.
Underscoring the high stakes, General Francisco Yanez of the air force’s high command announced Saturday he rejected Maduro’s ‘dictatorial’ authority and pledged his allegiance to Guaido, in a video posted on social media.
‘People of Venezuela, 90 percent of the armed forces of Venezuela are not with the dictator, they are with the people of Venezuela,’ Yanez said in the video circulating on Twitter.
‘Given the happenings of the last few hours, already the transition to democracy is imminent.’
On its own Twitter account, the air force’s high command accused the general of treason.
His defection came as Pro-Maduro forces were also rallying in the western side of the city to mark the 20th anniversary of the presidential inauguration of the late Hugo Chavez, the leftist firebrand who installed a socialist government.
Hundreds of members of a civilian militia, public workers and people who have benefited from the government’s social programs began to concentrate in the downtown Avenida Bolivar in a show of support for their beleaguered leader.
The rally was attended by Maduro, Chavez’s handpicked successor, in what was his first public appearance since August 4, when he claimed to have been the target of an exploding drone at a military parade in Caracas.
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech during a gathering with supporters to mark the 20th anniversary of the rise of power of the late Hugo Chavez
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores acknowledge supporters at the end of a rally in Caracas
Thousands gather for the rally of United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in support of President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela on February 02, 2019
President Maduro, Chavez’s handpicked successor, attended a rally in what was his first public appearance since August 4, when he claimed to have been the target of an exploding drone at a military parade in Caracas
‘Today is the anniversary of 20 years of work, fight, advances and important achievements, despite the difficulties and imperial conspiracies,’ Maudro said on twitter. ‘Congratulations to all.’
Meanwhile tens of thousands of opposition supporters, many sporting clothes in the yellow, blue and red colors of the Venezuelan flag, turned out at rallies nationwide to protest against Maduro and show support for Guaido.
The crowd chanted: ‘Yes We Can [Si se peude]’ as Guaido called for their support to bring change to Venezuela.
Protesters then sang the Venezuelan national anthem, many with their right hand on their heart.
President of the Venezuelan National Assembly Juan Guaido (centre) arrives to deliver a speech during a march against Nicolas Maduro’s Government, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 2 2019
Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido and his wife Fabiana Rosales (right) chant during a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government in Caracas
Supporters of Juan Guaidó chanted: ‘Yes We Can [Si se peude]’ as Gaido called for their support to bring change to Venezuela. Protesters then sang the Venezuelan national anthem, many with their right hand on their heart
Tens of thousands of protesters poured onto the streets of Caracas to back self-proclaimed acting president Guaido’s calls for early elections
Momentum is growing for Venezuela’s opposition movement led by self-declared interim president Juan Guaido
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Guaido argues that Maduro’s re-election last year was rife with fraud, and he has invoked two articles of Venezuela’s constitution which he argues give him the right to assume presidential powers.
The U.S., along with Canada, the U.K. and numerous Latin American nations, has recognized Guaido as the legitimate president. Maduro is backed by allies Russia, China, Iran and Syria.
This week Washington imposed potentially crippling sanctions that are likely to further weaken the OPEC nation’s struggling oil industry.
Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas protesting the U.S. sanctions and their support of self-declared interim leader Juan Guaido with a banning calling for Donald Trump and his wall to leave the White House
Opposition activists pour into the streets to back Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s calls for early elections, in Caracas on Saturday
Civil servant Eduardo Lugo, 58, told MailOnline: ‘We have come out into the street to liberate our country. We want to bring hope back to Venezuela
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While small rebellions against Maduro have broken out in Venezuela’s armed forces in recent months, there has been no large scale military uprising against him.
Yanez is the first active Venezuelan general to recognize Guaido since he proclaimed himself president on January 23. But Venezuela’s chief military attache to the United States also said he was defecting last week.
Which countries are supporting Venezuela’s opposition?
Supporting ‘interim’ President Juan Guaido:
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Kosovo
- The EU 27
Supporting incumbent President Nicolas Maduro:
- Russia
- China
- Iran
- Cuba
- Mexico
- Turkey
- Syria
- Bolivia
- Uruguay
Canada and several Latin American nations have already officially recognized Guaido. Some European Union member states are expected to officially recognize Guaido next week, while others will likely take a more cautious stance of support.
‘We are going to send a very clear message in all the municipalities of Venezuela and in each city of the world, we are going to give a demonstration of strength, in a pacific and organized manner,’ Guaido tweeted on Saturday.
Hard-working Venezuelans poured onto the streets to demand the end of Maduro’s six-year rule.
Teachers, civil servants, businessmen, students, shop-workers, waitresses and housewives gathered across the capital, Caracas, to take part in the country’s biggest ever demonstration calling for him to quit.
The demonstrators – from all social classes – were answering Guaido’s summons to ‘take to the streets’, demanding fresh elections, as well as food and medical supplies for the millions suffering in the crippling economic crisis.
Carrying Venezuelan flags and blowing horns and whistles, Guaido’s supporters planned to converge on the European Union headquarters in eastern Caracas from five staging areas around the city.
The EU and major European powers have given Maduro until Sunday to call ‘free elections’ or they will recognize Guaido, who is head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, as the country’s acting president.
Civil servant Eduardo Lugo, 58, told MailOnline: ‘We have come out into the street to liberate our country. We want to bring hope back to Venezuela.
‘The country is in a terrible mess. We are suffering. There is no food, we have hyper-inflation, there is no democracy. We want to be free.’
His partner Carmen Romero, 50, added: ‘We need change.’
Mireanna Fernandez, a 20-year-old student at a protest in the eastern city of Ciudad Guayana, said before Guaido’s proclamation she wanted to leave Venezuela, but now she had hope that Maduro’s government would end.
An anti-government protester wears signs asking for humanitarian aid and a message on his chest that reads in Spanish: ‘Venezuelans die for lack of medicines. Maduro is an assassin’
An anti-government protester rests while blocking a highway with a small group of demonstrators who were returning from a peaceful demonstration called by self-declared interim president Juan Guaido
A man wearing a mask of U.S. President Donald Trump attends a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government in Caracas, Venezuela February 2
Demonstrators with their faces covered sit in the street as they protest against the government on February 2, 2019 in Caracas. Venezuela’s self-declared president and accepted by over 20 countries, Juan Guaido, called Venezuelans to the streets and demands the resignation of Nicolas Maduro
Opposition supporters take part in a rally against Maduro in Caracas as they stand on fencing to get a better view over the sea of people
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‘I have no quality of life, I can’t go out onto the streets, my university is falling apart, they’ve closed classrooms, there are no teachers,’ she said. ‘It’s time they leave.’
Adrianna Garcia, 27, told how despite holding down two jobs she can’t make ends meet: ‘The country has become a dictatorship. We want the country to get back on its feet.
‘I have two jobs but I still do not have enough money to buy the everyday things I need.
‘I want to have a proper job and for my country to have a future. For that we need a new president, a fresh start.’
Cosmetics company worker Mariel Armas, 52, told how she has to choose between buying food and clothes or other commodities.
House wife Julia de las Salas, 48, and her daughter Lisandry Graterol, 21 at an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela
Tens of thousands of Venezuelan’s took the the streets after opposition leader Juan Guaido has called for a mass demonstration demanding political change
Student Gregory Sanabria, 24, travelled for 12 hours on a bus from his home in the Andes to take part in the 2nd February march
‘Every day I have to make a choice about how I am going to spend the little money I earn,’ she told MailOnline.
‘I can either buy food or I can buy clothes. I cannot buy both. I just want Venezuela to go back to how it used to be before this dictatorship. We used to be a rich country. There used to be well-paid jobs. I want [President] Maduro to go and for there to be a transitional government.’
Retired teacher Maria da Silva, 61, told how she could not afford to replace her broken shoes.
‘I have worked for 38 years as a teacher, half of the people here today are my former students.
‘Now I can barely afford to live. I cannot afford to buy meat, it’s just too expensive. If I buy eggs with my pension I cannot buy anything else.
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Civil servant Eduardo Lugo, 58, and Carmen Romero, 50. Eduardo told MailOnline: ‘The country is in a terrible mess. We are suffering. There is no food, we have hyper-inflation, there is no democracy. We want to be free.’ His partner Carmen added: ‘We need change’
Opposition supporters (pictured) demanded that President Maduro step down, but at the same time pro Government supporters gathered in different parts of Caracas
Cosmetics company worker Mariel Armas, 52, (left) and retired teacher Maria da Silva, 61, (right) both turned out today to support opposition leader Juan Guaido
‘My shoes are broken but I cannot afford to buy new ones.’
Businessman Jesus Camacaro, 41, said Venezuela was on the brink of change.
‘We are close to the end,’ he said. ‘Maduro has ruined the country we need a new government with Juan Guaido leading us out of this mess.
‘Guaido has the support of the people and the support of the international community.’
Unemployed factory worker Iraima Perez told how Venezuela’s socialist regime had ruined the country.
‘We have had 20 years of this regime and it has ruined the country. The state took over the company I worked for and I lost my job.
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Venezuelan opposition supporters gather at Brión de Chacaíto Square in Caracas. Opposition leaded Juan Guaido has called for a mass demonstration demanding political change
Venezuelan MP Renzo Prieto, 31, said President Maduro deserved to be sent to jail for the chaos and corruption he had brought to Venezuela
‘The government is shooting innocent people dead for nothing. We just want a better future.’
Businessman Douglas Ascanio, 65, said the people were putting their faith in opposition leader Guaido.
‘We want Juan Guaido to be president,’ he told MailOnline. ‘We have had enough of this socialist regime. [President] Maduro and his chronies have ruined the country. We want a real democracy and freedom for all.’
Student Gregory Sanabria had travelled for 12 hours on a bus from his home in the Andes to take part in the 2nd February march [#2F].
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The 24-year-old from Merida said: ‘I was sent to prison and labelled a terrorist because I took part in an opposition protest.
‘But now it is time for change. It is time for free elections and a new government.’
Venezuelan MP Renzo Prieto said President Maduro deserved to be sent to jail for the chaos and corruption he had brought to Venezuela.
But the 31-year-old politician said that he would let the embattled leader flee abroad if this would stop the bloodshed.
A participant in the Venezuelan national colours shows the words ‘I am Free’, written on his palms as opposition supporters in Venezuela get ready for a demonstration against the Nicolas Maduro’s Government
An overwhelming sight for democracies around the world who this month gave their support to Guaido, with many of the world’s biggest players recognising him as the leader already
A Venezuelan woman shouts slogans as she takes part in a rally in Catalonia square, in Barcelona, Spain as countries around the world condemn the actions of President Nicolas Maduro
The streets of Caracas were filled with Venzuelans of every class, from every type of profession to call for an end to the socialist tyranny of Maduro
‘Venezuela needs a new start, a new government, a brighter future.’
Housewife Julia de las Salas, 48, came to the march with her daughter Lisandry Graterol, 21.
She told MailOnline: ‘We are here today to fight for freedom. I want a better future for my daughter and my family.’
Meanwhile supporters of the ‘chavismo’ movement founded by Chavez gathered in Caracas’ Bolivar avenue for the government rally on Saturday morning.
‘For us Venezuelans, there is only one president – President Nicolas Maduro,’ said Gregory Carrasquel, 35. ‘The other is someone who is being led to carry out a coup.’
‘(U.S. President Donald) Trump is imposing measures because he is the dictator of the world and thinks we are his slaves.’
Washington has imposed sweeping sanctions on state-owned oil firm PDVSA in the toughest financial challenge yet to Maduro, as the Trump administration openly seeks to push him from power.
Venezuela is suffering from hyperinflation, produce shortages and a mass migration of citizens to neighboring Latin American countries – a situation likely to be worsened in the short term by the new sanctions.
Guaido swore himself in as interim president in a direct challenge to Maduro’s rule, but still has no control over state institutions or any functions of day-to-day governance.
Maduro’s adversaries say he has run roughshod over democratic institutions, including the opposition-run congress, and destroyed the once-buoyant economy through a corruption-riddled exchange control system and arbitrary nationalizations.
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Tens of thousands of protesters line the streets of Caracas today, many wearing the yellow, blue and red colours of their flag
An anti-government protester holds a poster with a message that reads in Spanish: ‘Freedom for Venezuela’ in Caracas
A protester holds a sign in English which says: ‘God Guaido Almagro and the world to Venezuela, thanks!’ And then in Spanish ‘Forza Ragazzi!’ – which means ‘Come on Guys!’
Venezuela and the United States: A timeline of their relations as Nicolas Maduro battles for power
1835: Washington establishes diplomatic relations with Venezuela, after the South American country gains independence from Spain. U.S. policy in Latin America is grounded in the Monroe Doctrine of opposing European intervention in the region.
1902: President Theodore Roosevelt defuses a crisis in Venezuela after European nations including Britain and Germany imposed a blockade over unpaid debts. His idea of an ‘international police power’ becomes known as the ‘Roosevelt Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine.
1914: Venezuela opens its first major oilfield, giving it crucial strategic value to the United States. Further oil sources are discovered during the course of World War I. By the late 1920s it was one of the world’s leading oil exporters.
1942: The country is granted $4million of military equipment under Lend-Lease during World War II. It is one of more than 40 nations offered aid in the scheme, which began before the U.S. entered the war.
1950: A U.S. State Department paper says: ‘All policies toward Venezuela are affected in greater or less degree by the objective of assuring an adequate supply of petroleum for the U.S.’. The document also lists Venezuelan iron ore deposits as being of strategic interest to Washington.
1959: Democratically-elected leader Romulo Betancourt takes power in Venezuela after the fall of a military dictatorship, and is, regarded by the U.S. as an anti-Communist ally during the Cold War. The countries remain broadly aligned until 1999.
1973: U.S. backing for a military coup in Chile – in which army chief Augusto Pinochet overthrows democratically-elected socialist Salvador Allende – becomes a symbol of Washington’s interventionism in Latin America.
1974: Venezuela restores diplomatic relations with Washington’s Cold War enemy, Cuba. They had earlier been cut off under Betancourt’s doctrine of denying recognition to undemocratic regimes.
1997: Bill Clinton’s White House describes Venezuela as a ‘close’ partner thanks to their oil trade, with a ‘strong mutual commitment to democracy’. For a time in the 1990s Venezuela is the largest oil exporter to the United States. It marks the last high point of Washington’s relationship with Caracas.
1999: Venezuela lurches to the left as anti-American socialist Hugo Chavez – who had attempted a coup in 1992 – becomes President. It is the start of two decades of worsening relations with Washington.
Hugo Chavez at the UN in 2006 where he called Bush ‘the devil’
2002: Chavez is briefly toppled by a coup before returning to power. He accuses the United States of involvement in the attempted overthrow, claiming the CIA knew about it in advance. Loyalists in the military return Chavez to power after interim president Pedro Carmona dissolved the constitution.
2003: The Venezuelan leader opposes the American-led invasion of Iraq, saying in November that year it had led to ‘terrible destablization’ and violence’. The war escalates tensions between Chavez and George W. Bush.
2006: President Chavez calls George W. Bush ‘the devil’ during a speech at the United Nations in New York, saying the podium still ‘smelled of sulphur’ after the 43rd U.S. President had spoken there the day before.
2009: Barack Obama meets Chavez in Trinidad and Tobago in a bid to improve relations. Obama, who had recently been sworn in, defends his ‘polite conversation’ with the Venezuelan leader but he is slammed by U.S. Republicans for bolstering ‘enemies of America’.
2013: Hugo Chavez dies on March 5, aged 58, just months after winning re-election to another term, defeating centrist candidate Henrique Capriles. Nicolas Maduro, running to continue his mentor’s policies, wins the resulting presidential election by less than two per cent. In his inaugural speech he attacks Washington’s ‘imperialism’.
2015: Obama declares Venezuela a security threat, accusing the country’s government of persecuting opponents, arbitrary detentions, violating human rights and ‘significant public corruption’. The U.S. Treasury Department also orders sanctions on seven named Venezuelan officials.
2017: Maduro forms a new Constituent Assembly to rewrite Venezuela’s constitution, seen as an effort to target and imprison opposition leaders. Opponents said the electoral system was rigged in favour of the government. The U.S. government does not recognise the assembly.
2019: Donald Trump recognises opposition leader Juan Guaido after he declared himself interim President. It comes amid nationwide protests after Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a disputed election victory in May 2018, which opponents said was achieved by vote-rigging. Maduro vows to fight on and is backed by the country’s military chiefs.
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