European Parliament Recognizes Juan Guaidó as Interim President of Venezuela

On Thursday, February 1, the European Parliament recognized Juan Guaidó, the President of the Parliament and rival of Nicolás Maduro, as the interim president of Venezuela. According to the European Parliament, the aim of this symbolic action is to exert pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Members of the European Parliament adopted this resolution, which is not mandatory, and called on member states of the Union to adopt the same position. Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Spain have given Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela whose legitimacy is in question, eight days to hold new presidential elections, or else they will recognize his rival, Juan Guaidó, as the president of the country. This deadline ends on Sunday. Maduro has rejected this request but stated that he is ready for negotiations. Mr. Guaidó swore in as the President of Venezuela on January 23 in front of tens of thousands of people in the country. The United States, some European countries, and several Latin American countries have recognized Guaidó's presidency and stated that Maduro's continued presidency is illegal due to electoral fraud in the country. Venezuela has faced severe food shortages and hyperinflation during Maduro's presidency, which is expected to reach 10 million percent this year. Additionally, more than three million people have fled the country due to the economic and political crisis. Meanwhile, Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, reiterated the EU's call for new elections in Venezuela on Thursday. The EU has warned that if these elections are not announced in the coming days, harsher actions will be taken. Ahead of the EU foreign ministers' meeting, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt stated that he would ask his counterparts to impose more sanctions against the 'corrupt' Venezuelan regime to exert more pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Kimberly Breyer, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America, said on Thursday, 'We specifically encourage all European governments to support the people of Venezuela and the transitional government by recognizing Juan Guaidó as the interim president.' Guaidó has also called for more sanctions against Maduro's government. Meanwhile, the U.S. on Thursday urged the EU to quickly recognize the Venezuelan opposition leader as the interim president of the country. Kimberly Breyer stated, 'We specifically encourage all European governments to support the people of Venezuela and the transitional government by recognizing Juan Guaidó as the interim president.' In the meantime, the Spanish news agency EFE reported that three of its journalists were arrested on Wednesday in Caracas. The Venezuelan Foreign Minister claimed that these journalists entered the country 'illegally.' According to EFE, one of these journalists, Colombian photographer Leonardo Muñoz, who had been missing since Wednesday morning, was arrested by agents of the Venezuelan military intelligence, and two others were detained in the agency's office by Venezuelan security agents. The Colombian Foreign Minister confirmed the identity and nationality of these journalists, who are two Colombians and one Spaniard, condemned their 'illegal detention' and called for their release. The news of the Colombian photographer and his driver going missing was first reflected in a tweet by the Venezuelan Foreign Minister. Jorge Arreaza wrote, 'Several foreign journalists entered the country illegally, and some of them attempted to enter the presidential palace without permission. Foreign media know that to avoid unnecessary troubles, they must go through legal procedures at Venezuelan consulates before traveling to the country.' According to EFE, the Colombian photographer entered Venezuela on January 24 using 'legal immigration methods.' According to German news agency reports, two journalists from the French newspaper Le Figaro were also arrested on Tuesday while filming the presidential palace in Caracas. These two were released on Thursday. According to the Chilean Foreign Minister, two journalists from his country were also expelled from Venezuela after 14 hours of detention on Wednesday. Two Venezuelan journalists who were arrested with them were also released.