Opposition Leader in Venezuela Calls for Peaceful Power Transition

Juan Guaidó, the President of the Parliament and leader of the Venezuelan opposition, stated in an interview with CNN aired on Tuesday, February 9, that the opposition movement can carry out a peaceful power transition and subsequently hold free elections. In part of this interview conducted in Spanish, Guaidó said, "We are confident that we can achieve a peaceful transfer of power and then hold free elections. We must pressure the dictator to relinquish power, form a transitional government, and then hold free elections." Guaidó has now become the leader of the opposition against Nicolás Maduro's government. A day before Guaidó's interview aired, the U.S. government continued its pressure on Nicolás Maduro's regime by sanctioning the state oil company of Venezuela. In another part of the interview, Guaidó stated that the Venezuelan armed forces would be granted amnesty, which would also apply to Maduro. He also mentioned that he had spoken several times by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump during this period. When asked about military options in Venezuela, he said that all options are being considered. The Associated Press reported, citing the UN Human Rights Office, that Venezuelan security forces arrested about 700 people in a single day last week during opposition protests. This is the highest number of arrests in a single day in the past twenty years in Venezuela. A spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office said that on Wednesday alone, 696 people were arrested, and between Monday and Saturday of the previous week, about 850 people were detained, including 77 children. It is believed that "over 40 people have been killed in various ways" during the recent protests. Eleven of them were killed by "unknown individuals" in connection with looting. It has also been reported that a member of the security forces known as the "Bolivarian Guard" was killed in the Monagas state. According to him, officials from the UN Human Rights Office are investigating the mistreatment of detainees. Additionally, Reuters reported from Moscow that on Tuesday, the Deputy Minister of Economy of Russia stated that he believes the Venezuelan government will face difficulties in making timely payments on its loans to Moscow. On Tuesday afternoon, the Russian Ministry of Economy issued a separate statement saying it expects that the installments of this loan, which amounts to over $100 million, will be paid on time. The statement said, "There has been no change in the repayment of this loan, and therefore Venezuela must fulfill its obligations to the lender."