U.S. Outreach to Venezuela Strengthens Maduro, Sidelines Guaidó
U.S. Outreach to Venezuela Strengthens Maduro, Sidelines Guaidó
"Whenever you’ve had elections across the region…one of the first things countries do is shift recognition away from Guaidó and to Maduro," AS/COA's Eric Farnsworth told The Washington Post.
As Biden administration officials met with Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in his palace over the weekend, the highest-level U.S. contact with the socialist state in years, they left one notable leader out of the plans.
Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader whom the United States recognizes as this South American nation’s rightful president, wasn’t informed of the Americans’ visit until after they had met with Maduro, according to four people familiar with the events. And while U.S. officials were in touch with Guaidó during their trip, they didn’t meet face-to-face with the opposition leader, according to the four, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter…
“Whenever you’ve had elections across the region … one of the first things countries do is shift recognition away from Guaidó and to Maduro,” said former State Department official Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas in Washington. “It’s obviously not lost on Maduro that if he can come out of this year strengthened, that positions him pretty well going into 2024,” when Venezuela is expected to hold its next presidential election. […]
