US to keep coordinating with Guaido, claims Maduro is 'illegitimate'
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The US considers Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro "illegitimate" and wants to continue coordinating with opposition leader Juan Guaido.
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State Department spokesperson Ned Price speaks during a briefing at the State Department in Washington, Nov. 2, 2022 (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
The United States will continue to coordinate efforts with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as an assembly member to support the country's people, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
"We will continue to coordinate with him as a member of the 2015 National Assembly and with other like-minded democratic actors in Venezuela to support the Venezuelan people and their aspirations for democracy, rule of law, and prosperity," Price said.
"Our approach to [Venezuelan President] Nicholas Maduro has not changed - he is illegitimate, we support the 2015 National Assembly," he added.
Read: Venezuela's opposition wants interim government out
Maduro has recently confirmed that his government is ready to develop the process of normalizing political and diplomatic relations with the US.
On December 30, 2022, the Venezuelan opposition backed in a second hearing the removal of Juan Guaido's self-proclaimed "interim government", which he has led since 2019, AFP reported.
"Total votes: 72 votes in favor, 29 votes against, eight abstained," Jose Antonio Figueredo, the secretary of Venezuela’s National Assembly, had stated.
On December 22, the Venezuelan opposition voted in favor of dismantling the self-proclaimed "interim government" led by Guaido.
In October, the Venezuelan opposition's political parties were discussing plans to oust the incumbent opposition leader Juan Guaido, according to The Financial Times.
The parties which backed the decision are Primero Justicia, Accion Democratica, and Un Nuevo Tiempo.
Venezuela was thrown into a political crisis in January 2019 when Juan Guaido, the former head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, backed by the US, declared himself interim president in an attempt to depose re-elected President Nicolas Maduro.
Relations were severed consequently, which led the US to impose crippling sanctions on Venezuela's oil and financial industries, while Iran, Russia, China, Turkey, and several other nations have been supporting Maduro.
