Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaidó spoke with Voice of America and provided details about his plan to create a “National Emergency Government” through a State Council, and warned about the crisis that the country is undergoing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Guaidó, who is also the president of the National Assembly, said that Nicolás Maduro currently “seems to be isolated, cornered. His options are gone because he lacks popular support.”
“He [Maduro] is going to do what he always does: downplay, divert attention. And at this moment, there is no room for that,” he added.
Guaidó reiterated that the idea to create a joint State Council first arose in talks held in Barbados in 2019. “Many are trying to find a solution to this, including those who are still supporting a dictator,” he said.
This proposal gained U.S. support days after it was submitted. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo even said that sanctions could be lifted if the conditions were met.
The Maduro regime has already said that it will not accept any “tutelage” from a foreign power.
“They should be sensible and listen to what the international community is offering and to what Venezuelans are pushing for: a solution to the conflict,” Guaidó told VOA.
While he said that discussing who would make up the Council isn’t possible yet, he said that members couldn’t be linked to terrorism, narcotrafficking, human rights violations, or corruption.
He said that this transition sought with the “emergency government” is not only “imminent,” but also necessary for “Venezuela to survive,” and it is the common goal of the Venezuelan opposition.
“The transition in Venezuela is a fact. How long is it going to take? It will require efforts from all Venezuelans. And today, more than ever, I celebrate the, let’s say, political maturity we have reached, not only from the people of Venezuela, but also its leaders.”
When asked whether the naval operation that the United States announced in the Caribbean could generate expectations in some social sectors about a possible military intervention, Guaidó said that “there is an intervention today in Venezuela, and it’s by Cubans through the G2, intelligence, and counterintelligence.”
He said that the island “must answer whether they use the country for narcotrafficking or for ideology and oil only.”