Maduro abandons demand for US diplomats to leave Venezuela
- Analysts say president’s move represents a ‘loss in power’ as he tries to battle for support from the people, the military and the country’s oil industry
Venezuela abandoned its decision to sever diplomatic ties with the US, saying each country agreed to keep a so-called interest section open in their respective capitals.
The Saturday evening announcement that the missions would stay open was a retreat after days of bellicose rhetoric prompted by the US decision to recognise National Assembly leader Juan Guaido as the nation’s head of state.
President Nicolas Maduro’s election to a six-year term last year has been criticised as a fraud designed to keep him and his military allies in power despite the country’s years-long spiral into misery and hunger.
This weekend, the European Union demanded speedy elections and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo told the UN that the socialist Maduro must go.
“It is time for every other nation to pick a side. No more delays, no more games. Either you stand with the forces of freedom, or you’re in league with Maduro and his mayhem,” Pompeo told the UN Security Council during an emergency session called by the US.
Maduro called Pompeo “a warlord” who speaks with “a lot of despair and hate” in an interview with CNN-Turk channel.
The Venezuelan leader also told the network he was prepared to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the crisis in his country.
Despite the government’s threats to throw out diplomats and cut off electricity, the US refused to close its embassy.
However, nonessential staff were leaving the country, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said, calling it “an effective retreat”. Venezuelan diplomats in Washington were returning to Caracas on Saturday, he said.
Now, the governments have 30 days to reach an agreement that will establish interest sections, which permit basic consular functions, but are the lowest level of diplomatic exchange. Remaining personnel will stay in their embassies, protected by “diplomatic prerogatives” during that time, according to Arreaza.
Guaido, a 35-year-old engineer-turned-lawmaker and Maduro, successor of late president Hugo Chavez, are vying for support in the streets, the military and the mainstay oil industry.
Colonel Jose Luis Silva Silva, Venezuela’s top military diplomat in the US, said in a video widely circulated on social media on Saturday that he supports Guaido.
“The armed forces have a key role in restoring democracy in the country,” Silva said, calling on the government to “stop the usurpation of executive power”.
Carlos Luna, a professor of international relations at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, said Maduro’s decision to allow interest sections represents a “loss in power”.
“When he made the decision to break relations he did so because he felt obligated,” Luna said. “But forcing diplomats out ... carries consequences, especially if you’re staring down the world’s greatest military power.”
The US is betting it has the clout to tip the scales after Trump’s decision to recognise Guaido was joined by countries including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Panama. EU powers shifted towards the US position on Saturday with envoys saying the blob would recognise Guaido as interim president unless a new election is called within eight days.
Arreaza called the push for a new election “almost childlike”.
Maduro has stood firm in the face of demonstrations against his rule this week, winning the endorsement of key military leaders and vowing to defeat what he calls a US-backed coup against his government.
The UN hearing was mostly a symbolic clash. With Venezuelan allies China and Russia holding veto power, there was little chance the UN body would agree to take action.
Moises Rendon of the Americas Programme at Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said Maduro’s opponents should ready themselves for a long struggle.
“The path to restoring Venezuela’s democracy and stability will undoubtedly be long and arduous,” he said.
