Biden Sidelines Venezuela's Pro-democracy Leader from Summit
Biden Sidelines Venezuela's Pro-democracy Leader from Summit
"This is a clear win for Maduro," said AS/COA's Eric Farnsworth to the Associated Press.
A little more than two years ago, Juan Guaidó was showered with bipartisan applause when President Donald Trump during his state of the union speech praised the Venezuelan opposition leader as a “very brave man” who carries on his shoulders the democratic hopes of an entire nation.
But in a sign of how far his political fate has fallen, and how quickly U.S. geopolitical calculations can shift, the 38-year-old wasn’t even invited to this week’s Summit of the Americas — despite the Biden administration’s persistent promotion of democracy and insistence it recognizes Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president. […]
“This is a clear win for Maduro,” Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of Americas, said from Los Angeles, where he was attending the summit. “He’s seen allies take up his cause at the summit while preventing his primary rival, whom Washington recognizes as president, from attending.”…
