WEB DESK
Nearly 20 European Union countries have endorsed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim President.
Putting the pressure on embattled President Nicolas Maduro to resign and clear the way for a new Presidential election, Germany, France and Britain and Spain publicly supported Guaido after a Sunday deadline to call a presidential election passed without action.
Other European nations, such as Portugal, Denmark, Holland, Hungary, Austria, Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Sweden and Croatia also lined up behind Guaido, who last month declared himself interim President with the support of the United States and many South American nations.
However, Maduro showed no signs of caving in and lashed out at the European Union, accusing it of taking orders from the Trump administration.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has welcomed major European powers’ recognition of Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president.
In a related development, the Lima Group of Latin American countries and Canada has called for a peaceful change in government in Venezuela, without military intervention.
Foreign ministers belonging to the group, met at Ottawa in Canada to discuss additional steps to pressure Maduro. The group also urged Venezuela’s military to support Guaido as interim president and not to impede the entry and transit of humanitarian assistance to Venezuelans.