Venezuelan President Maduro gives U.S. diplomats 72 hours to leave

Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó has declared himself the interim president, in a dramatic escalation of efforts to force out Nicolás Maduro, who has overseen the country’s slide into authoritarianism and economic ruin.

Guaidó was quickly recognised by the US, Canada, Brazil, Colombia and other US allies in the Americas. Donald Trump warned that “all options are on the table” if Maduro responded with force against the opposition, but US officials made clear that the White House was focused on economic measures and would look at ways to transfer Venezuelan assets and oil revenues to Guaidó and the opposition-run national assembly.

Maduro responded with defiance, cutting off relations with the US and ordering all US diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours.

“We are defending the right to the very existence of our Bolivarian republic,” Maduro told supporters at a rally outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. He urged them to resist “at all costs” what he called a coup attempt being orchestrated by “the coup-mongering, interventionist gringo empire” and the “fascist right”.

“They intend to govern Venezuela from Washington,” Maduro shouted from the palace’s people’s balcony. “Do you want a puppet government controlled by Washington?”

The 35-year-old lawmaker, said his surprise move was the only way to rescue Venezuela from “dictatorship” and restore constitutional order.