Guaidó admits lack of military support as Venezuela standoff continues

Juan Guaido.
(Image credit: FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images)

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó conceded Wednesday that this week's anti-government protests did not yet have the backing of enough military defectors to oust President Nicolás Maduro, CNN reports. Maduro has accused President Trump of orchestrating Guaidó's Tuesday "coup d'etat attempt." He called for supporters to show "utmost loyalty" and take to the streets to defend his socialist government. Maduro called for two "days of action" this weekend.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Russia of propping up Maduro, and said the U.S., which backs Guaidó as the South American nation's leader, was leaving all options on the table, including military action. Russia said the U.S. was spreading false information in an "information war."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.