As Venezuela, all-but burns as anti-Maduro political protests continue, President Donald Trump is receiving wide-ranging bipartisan support for his recognition of newly-elected Venezuelan Assembly Leader Juan Guaido as that country’s “legitimate” president.
Maduro doesn’t see it that way, and still proclaims that he is the true leader of Venezuela.
President Nicolas Maduro enjoys the support of the military and the hardliners in his regime, but Guaido’s election for the most part, speaks for the will of the Venezuelan people.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) has been beating the drum of opposition against the late Hugo Chavez, and of his successor Maduro.
Rubio (pictured at an 2015 anti-Maduro press conference in Miami) says that the Trump administration “deserves lots of credit” for the anti-Maduro regime sentiment the “regional partnership” has expressed.
The administration of @realDonaldTrump deserves lots of credit for this. The effort against Maduro regime is a regional partnership not a unilateral U.S. dominated effort. And Trump administration has been careful not to act without the consensus of our democratic partners. https://t.co/NCoNSnhHTt
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 24, 2019
The only Latin American countries to stand alongside Venezuela are Bolivia, and of course Cuba.
While Vice President Mike Pence hopes that Maduro will peacefully handover the reigns of his country, Maduro has told the US that he wants all U.S. diplomats to leave within 3 days, and threat the Trump administration has scoffed at.
President Trump stepped up his rhetoric after Maduro made his demand, saying that “all options are on the table” when dealing with Maduro, including military action.
The administration asserted that because American interests could be threatened, the use of military action was being considered.
