Juan Guaidó

Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician, a former member of the social-democratic Popular Will party, and federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of Vargas. On 23 January 2019, Guaidó and the National Assembly declared he was acting president of Venezuela (), starting the Venezuelan presidential crisis by challenging Nicolás Maduro's presidency.

Guaidó's political career began when he emerged as a student leader in the 2007 Venezuelan protests. He then helped found the Popular Will party with Leopoldo López in 2009, and was elected to be an alternate deputy in the National Assembly one year later in 2010. In 2015, Guaidó was elected as a full-seat deputy. Following a protocol to annually rotate the position of President of the National Assembly among political parties, Popular Will nominated Guaidó for the position in 2019.

Guaidó has been a key figure in the Venezuelan presidential crisis, which began when the National Assembly, considering the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election illegitimate, refused to recognize the inauguration of Nicolás Maduro to a second presidential term on 10 January 2019. Guaidó announced, on 23 January 2019, that he was formally assuming the role of interim president under Article 233 of the Constitution of Venezuela, with the backing of the National Assembly, until free elections could be held.

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
At one point Guaidó received formal recognition of legitimacy from almost 60 governments worldwide, including the United States, Canada and various Latin American and European countries. On 6 January 2021 the European Union stopped recognizing Guaidó as president after he lost his position as head of parliament, without recognizing Maduro as the legitimate president, and threatening further sanctions. Other nations, including Russia, China, Iran, Syria, Cuba and Turkey rejected his claim to the Presidency and continue to recognize Maduro as the legitimate President. Guaidó had not been able to remove Maduro from power; Maduro remained in control of the military, government institutions, and state enterprises. The Maduro administration has prohibited Guaidó from leaving the country, has frozen his Venezuelan assets, has launched a probe accusing Guaidó of foreign interference, and has threatened violence against him.

On 30 April 2019, Guaidó called for an uprising against Maduro as part of "Operation Freedom", which ultimately failed. Following the failed uprising, representatives of Guaidó and Maduro began mediation, with the assistance of the Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution. After the second meeting in Norway, no deal was reached. On 9 July 2019 negotiations started again in Barbados with representatives of Guaidó and Maduro. On 15 September, Guaidó announced that the opposition concluded the dialogue after the absence of the government in the negotiations for forty days as a protest to the recent sanctions by the United States. In January 2020, security forces prevented Guaidó and other congress members from entering the legislative palace during an internal election to choose the board of directors. A majority of lawmakers held an "emergency meeting" in the headquarters of the newspaper '' El Nacional'' and voted to re-elect Guaidó as their leader, with a swearing-in ceremony inside the parliament a day later, while the remaining lawmakers at the legislative palace elected Luis Parra. Security forces denied Guaidó and opposition lawmakers access to parliament many times since. In late March 2020, the United States proposed a transitional government that would exclude both Maduro and Guaidó from the presidency. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that sanctions did not apply to humanitarian aid during the coronavirus pandemic health emergency and that the United States would lift all sanctions if Maduro agreed to organize elections that did not include himself in a period of six to twelve months. Guaidó accepted the proposal, while Venezuela's foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, rejected it and declared that only parliamentary elections would take place that year. After the announcement of regional elections in 2021, Guaidó announced a "national salvation agreement" and proposed negotiation with Maduro with a schedule for free and fair elections, with international support and observers, in exchange for lifting international sanctions.

Domestically, Guaidó's actions have included a proposed ''Plan País'' (Country Plan), an amnesty law for military personnel and authorities who turn against the Maduro government, attempts to deliver humanitarian aid to the country, and social bonuses for health workers during COVID-19 pandemic. Internationally, Guaidó has gained control of some Venezuelan assets and property in the United States, has had success in a legal battle for control of £1.3 billion of Venezuelan gold reserves in the United Kingdom, and has appointed diplomats recognized by supportive governments.

Early life and education

Guaidó was born on 28 July 1983. Part of a large family and of "modest" origins, he was raised in a middle-class home in the outskirts of La Guaira; his parents are Wilmer and Norka. His father was an airline pilot and his mother, a teacher. One grandfather was a sergeant of the Venezuelan National Guard while another grandfather was a captain in the Venezuelan Navy. His parents divorced when he was at a young age, with his father emigrating to the Canary Islands and working as a taxi driver.

Guaidó lived through the 1999 Vargas tragedy which killed some of his friends while also destroying his school and home, leaving him and his family homeless. The tragedy, according to his colleagues, influenced his political views after the then-new government of Hugo Chávez reportedly provided ineffective response to the disaster. He said, "I saw that if I wanted a better future for my country I had to roll up my sleeves and give my life to public service."

He and his family stayed in a makeshift home in Caracas where he earned his high school diploma in 2000. Guaidó would continue to live in Caracas where he would earn his undergraduate degree in 2007 in industrial engineering from Andrés Bello Catholic University. He also participated in two postgraduate programs of public administration in Caracas: at the UCAB with the partnership of the George Washington University and at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA).

Activism

Guaidó stated, after "it became clear that under Chávez the country was drifting toward totalitarianism," he helped found the student-led political movement that protested the Venezuelan government's decision not to renew the broadcasting license of independent television network RCTV with other prominent student leaders in 2007—the year he graduated from Andrés Bello Catholic University. They also protested broader attempted government reforms by Chávez, including the 2007 constitutional referendum, which Chávez lost.

Together with Leopoldo López and other politicians, Guaidó was a founding member of the Popular Will political party in 2009; the party is affiliated with Socialist International. In 2014, Guaidó was the party's national coordinator. López, one of Venezuela's main opposition politicians who was under house arrest at the time, "mentored Guaidó for years" according to a January 2019 CNN report, and the two speak several times daily. As Lopez's protégé, Guaidó was well known in his party and the National Assembly, but not internationally; López named Guaidó to lead the Popular Will party in 2019.

Venezuelan National Assembly

In the 2010 Venezuelan parliamentary election, Guaidó was elected as an alternate national deputy. He was one of several politicians who went on a hunger strike to demand parliamentary elections in 2015 and was elected to a full-seat in the National Assembly in the 2015 elections with 26% of the vote. Vargas, an impoverished area, was home to many state-run companies that employed the majority of the population; until Guaidó's 2015 election, chavista candidates had run unchallenged.

In 2017, he was named head of the Comptroller's Commission of the National Assembly and in 2018, he was named head of the legislature's opposition. He contributed to research at the University of Arizona, giving testimony to analysts on the working conditions of Latin American politicians and, specifically, institutional crisis and political change.

In the National Assembly, Guaidó investigated corruption cases involving the Maduro administration, and worked with independent organizations to recover money allegedly stolen from the Venezuelan public. He participated in the 2017 Venezuelan protests, where one time security forces fractured his arm and he was shot with rubber bullets, which he has stated left scars on his neck. In January 2018 he was sworn in as the Leader of the Majority in the National Assembly. He spoke at the Latin American Peace Summit held in Brazil at the start of August 2018, representing Venezuela.

President of the National Assembly

Guaidó was chosen as president of the National Assembly of Venezuela in December 2018 by the Assembly, and was sworn in on 5 January 2019. Relatives of imprisoned politicians were invited to the inauguration. At 35, Guaidó was the youngest to have led the opposition. Shortly after assuming the presidency of the legislature, Guaidó took actions towards forming a transitional government.

An often-fragmented opposition unified around Guaidó. Two politicians were primarily responsible for the strategy that brought Guaidó to prominence: Julio Borges (in exile) and Leopoldo López (under house arrest). The plan was developed after the failed 2017 negotiations during the Venezuelan crisis between representatives of chavismo and the opposition, and that took more than a year to develop. Ricardo Hausmann and politicians from different political parties were also involved. Borges was involved in external efforts, such as with the Lima Group, along with Antonio Ledezma and Carlos Vecchio, who operated in the United States; María Corina Machado and López operated in Venezuela. David Smolansky and Freddy Guevara also supported Guaidó, along with Henrique Capriles, who had initially been distant. Javier Corrales, professor and author, stated that Guaidó's rise as a presidential figure began within Venezuela, not by foreign pressure.

Upon taking office, Guaidó vowed to oppose Maduro, and elaborated an action plan. The plan, approved by the National Assembly, comprised three phases (end of usurpation, transitional government, and free elections), with eight key points.

Detention and release

While on his way to a 13 January 2019 public assembly, Guaidó was briefly detained by members of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN), and released 45 minutes later. The Lima Group and the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, condemned the act. The Maduro government said the detention was carried out unilaterally by the SEBIN personnel, and twelve SEBIN officials were charged for their actions.

Guaidó declared that the events demonstrated that there was a break in the chain of command in the Armed Forces, and that Maduro was not in control.

Re-election

The 2020 Venezuelan National Assembly Delegated Committee election of 5 January, to elect the Board of Directors of the National Assembly was disrupted. The events resulted in two competing claims for the Presidency of the National Assembly: one by Luis Parra, an independent legislator, and one by Juan Guaidó. Parra was formerly a member of Justice First, but was expelled from the party on 20 December 2019 based on corruption allegations, which he denies. From inside the legislature, Parra declared himself president of the National Assembly; a move that was welcomed by Maduro administration. The opposition disputed this outcome, saying that quorum had not been achieved and no votes had been counted. Police forces had blocked access to parliament to some opposition members, including Guaidó, and members of the media. Later in the day, a separate session was carried out at the headquarters of '' El Nacional'' newspaper, where 100 of the 167 deputies voted to re-elect Guaidó as president of the parliament. In his speech, Guaidó announced his resignation from Popular Will.

Guaidó was sworn in a session on 7 January after forcing his way in through police barricades. On the same day, Parra has reiterated his claim to the presidency of the parliament.

Disputed acting president of Venezuela

Swearing-in as acting president

After what he and critics of the Maduro administration described as the "illegitimate" inauguration of Maduro on 10 January 2019, Guaidó challenged Maduro's claim to the presidency. The National Assembly declared Guaidó was willing to assume the responsibilities of the presidency, and continued to plan to remove Maduro. Guaidó told ''The Wall Street Journal'' that " 's not about twisting arms, breaking kneecaps, but rather holding out a hand" and offered "amnesty to military officers who joined efforts for a transition in power." They called for demonstrations on 23 January, the 61st anniversary of the overthrow of dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez. Large numbers of demonstrators came out in cities throughout Venezuela and across the world. Guaidó declared he assumed the functions as acting president and took the presidential oath at a rally in Caracas.

Within minutes of Guaidó's swearing-in, the United States recognized him as president, followed shortly thereafter by Canada and other Latin American and European countries; Russia, China, Iran, Syria, Cuba and Turkey supported Maduro. Maduro accused the United States of backing a coup and said he would cut ties with the country. Guaidó has denied the coup allegations, saying peaceful volunteers backed his movement. In December 2018, Guaidó had traveled to Washington D.C. where he met with OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, and then on 14 January to Colombia for a Lima Group meeting, in which Maduro's mandate was rejected.

Spanish newspaper ''El País'' described U.S. president Donald Trump's election—coinciding with the election of conservative presidents in Colombia and Brazil, along with deteriorating conditions in Venezuela—as "a perfect storm," influenced by hawks in the Trump administration. Opposition members Carlos Vecchio, Julio Borges and Gustavo Tarre were consulted, and the Trump administration decision to back Guaidó formed on 22 January, according to ''El Pais''. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser John R. Bolton, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and others met with Trump that day, and Vice President Mike Pence called Guaidó that night to express U.S. support, according to ''The Wall Street Journal''. According to ''El País'', the January Lima Group meeting and the stance taken by Canada, represented by Chrystia Freeland, were key factors leading Donald Trump, known for being an isolationist, to become involved in Venezuela.

The Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) rejected the National Assembly's decisions, while the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela in exile welcomed Guaidó as acting president.

On 29 January 2019, the TSJ launched a probe of Guaidó, froze his assets, and prohibited him from leaving the country. According to Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers for the United Nations Diego García Sayán, the measures were "not adopted in accordance with constitutional requirements, normal legal procedures and international human rights standards."

As of April 1, 2021, Guaidó is no longer recognized as Venezuela's rightful President by the European Union's 27 member-states after he lost his position as head of parliament; the United States and the United Kingdom continue to recognize him as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.

Personnel

According to ''El País'', Guaidó has had help, along with National Assembly vice-presidents Stalin González and Edgar Zambrano, from young representatives of various political parties: Miguel Pizarro for humanitarian aid, Carlos Paparoni heading a Finance Commission, and Marialbert Barrios working with embassies. Delsa Solórzano worked with Luisa Ortega Díaz on the Amnesty Law. David Smolansky is the OAS coordinator for the Venezuelan Migrant and Refugee crisis.

Carlos Vecchio was accepted by Pompeo as the Guaidó administration's diplomatic envoy to the US. Julio Borges was named to represent Venezuela in the Lima Group. The National Assembly made more than a dozen other diplomatic appointments, including Elisa Trotta Gamus to Argentina, María Teresa Belandria to Brazil, and Humberto Calderón Berti to Colombia. Diplomats to Europe and the Dominican Republic were named on 19 February.

Gustavo Tarre Briceño was named Venezuela's Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) on 29 January 2019, and ratified by the National Assembly according to the constitution. On 9 April, the OAS voted 18 to 9, with six abstentions, to accept Tarre Briceño as the ambassador from Venezuela. Maduro's Foreign Ministry called Tarre a "political usurper." The nomination was accepted 20 days before the deadline on Venezuela leaving the union, after they triggered the process in 2017, suggesting that the nation will remain in the OAS against the wishes of the Maduro administration. Venezuela's previous ambassador voted against Tarre. According to ''The Washington Post'', the OAS vote undermined Maduro's presence internationally and marked a step in the official recognition of Guaidó's government.

The National Assembly authorized Guaidó's appointment of a new ''ad hoc'' directors board of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), of Citgo, Pdvsa Holding Inc, Citgo Holding Inc. and Citgo Petroleum Corporation. The appointed members of PDVSA were Simón Antúnez, Gustavo J. Velasquez, Carlos José Balza, Ricardo Prada and David Smolansky. Likewise, the appointed members of Citgo Holding and Citgo Petroleum Corporation were Luisa Palacios, Edgar Rincón, Luis Urdaneta, Ángel Olmeta, Andrés Padilla and Rick Esser. With Citgo under the control of Guaidó's administration, the US Department of Treasury extended its license to operate in spite of US sanctions.

Guaidó named José Ignacio Hernández as special solicitor, making Hernández the first official named with state power. Ricardo Hausmann was named as Venezuela's representative to the Inter-American Development Bank, who recognized Hausmann as a replacement for Maduro's representative.

The Maduro administration's prosecutor general, Tarek William Saab, said the "appointments by Guaidó and his National Assembly are part of an illegal power grab backed by foreign governments" and opened a probe into the ambassador and oil industry appointees; a magistrate of "Venezuela’s pro-Maduro Supreme Court later read a statement ... nullifying the appointments and accusing the National Assembly of overstepping its constitutional powers."

Arrest attempt

On 12 July 2021, Special Action Forces (FAES) officials went to Guaidó's residence to arrest him. The security forces besieged Guaidó for twenty minutes in the residence's garage, who took refuge in an armored vehicle, even using explosives against him. The arrest was ultimately foiled due to the vehicle and his neighbors and supporters, who opposed his detention. Guaidó said that the officers did not identify themselves nor did they show any judicial order. Shortly before the same day, former deputy Freddy Guevara was detained while he was driving his vehicle.

Domestic affairs

In a 30 January 2019 ''New York Times'' editorial, Guaidó said,

He said his response to these problems was three-fold: restore the democratic National Assembly, gain international support, and allow for the people's right to self-determination.

Amnesty law

On 25 January 2019, Guaidó offered the Amnesty Law ( es, Ley de Amnistía a nombre de la Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela) approved by the National Assembly, for military personnel and authorities who help unseat Maduro. He suggested that if Maduro gives up power, he may receive amnesty. Over his first weekend, he held another public assembly, asking supporters to disseminate the Amnesty Law throughout the country to military, police and other functionaries. On 30 January, demonstrators took to the streets across the country to encourage the military to allow humanitarian aid and reject Maduro. Maduro also held meetings with the military; top military command remains loyal to Maduro as of February 2019.

In an editorial published by ''The New York Times'' on the evening of 30 January, Guaidó explained that the law would only apply to individuals who were not found to have committed crimes against humanity.

Elections

Guaidó told CNN in February 2019 that he would call elections 30 days after Maduro leaves power. He has not stated if he will run for president when elections occur, but said that "talking about a presidential candidacy separates him from his role at this time." In another interview, he declared it was "premature" to consider if he would be running for president.

The Statute Governing the Transition to Democracy to Re-establish the Validity of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Estatuto que Rige la Transición a la Democracia para Restablecer la Vigencia de la Constitución de la República Bolivariana De Venezuela) was approved on 5 February, and the National Assembly second vice-president Stalin González announced that a commission to set a route towards elections was established on 6 March 2019.

Finance and economy

Guaidó asked the Bank of England and British Prime Minister Theresa May not to return to the Maduro administration the £1.2 billion in gold reserves the UK holds for Venezuela, and to allow the opposition to access it instead. In the same week, the US Treasury levied sanctions against PDVSA and transferred control of some Venezuelan assets to Guaidó.

Guaidó said the Maduro administration was attempting to move some of the country's assets to Uruguay, "to keep stealing from the people of Venezuela." On 5 February, Paparoni announced that the transfer from Portugal to Uruguay had been stopped.

Guaidó seeks to open up the economy by allowing foreign, private oil companies greater participation in ventures with PDVSA; the requirement for 51% PDVSA ownership in joint ventures would be dropped. Pledging to honor "legal" and "financial" debt, Carlos Vecchio said that agreements in which Venezuela pays debt with oil (signed by the Maduro administration) may not be honored.

Humanitarian aid

In a ''Euronews'' interview, Guaidó said that hospitals in Venezuela lacked basic supplies and that "children were dying due to malnutrition." He has made bringing humanitarian aid to the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who could die if aid does not arrive a priority, and a test of the military's allegiance. The day after assuming the acting presidency, Guaidó requested humanitarian aid for Venezuela from the US and from the United Nations. Guaidó said Venezuela's neighbors, in a "global coalition to send aid to Venezuela," will help get humanitarian aid and medicine into the country; products will be shipped to neighboring ports and brought overland via convoys. He said that the 250,000 people whose lives are in danger will be the recipients of the first phase of the humanitarian effort. He traveled to Cúcuta on 22 February to be present as the aid entered Colombia; Maduro administration security forces clashed with demonstrators and blocked the aid from entering.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced in March 2019 that the Red Cross was preparing to bring humanitarian aid to the country in April to help ease both the chronic hunger and the medical crisis. ''The Wall Street Journal'' said that the acceptance of humanitarian shipments by Maduro was his first acknowledgement that Venezuela is "suffering from an economic collapse." Guaidó said the acceptance of humanitarian aid was the "result of our pressure and insistence," Also availabl
online.
/ref> and called on Venezuelans to "stay vigilant to make sure incoming aid is not diverted for 'corrupt' purposes." Also availabl

/ref> Following the joint report from Human Rights Watch and Johns Hopkins in April 2019, increasing announcements from the United Nations about the scale of the humanitarian crisis, and the softening of Maduro's position on receiving aid, the Red Cross tripled its budget for aid to Venezuela. The increased Red Cross aid would focus in four areas: the migration crisis, the health care system collapse, water and sanitation, and prisons and detention centers.

Media

On 23 April 2019, Guaidó named Alberto Federico Ravell, former CEO and co-founder of the news channel Globovisión, as his spokesman and director of the National Center of Communications of Venezuela, Guaidó's information and media board. In January 2020, Guaidó announced the appointment of an ad hoc directors board of the National Commission of Telecommunications (CONATEL), saying that " Telesur will no longer be a propaganda tool of the regime."

Plan País

Guaidó announced on 31 January, before a packed theatre at the Central University of Venezuela, that the National Assembly had approved a commission to implement a plan for the reconstruction of Venezuela. Called Plan País (Plan for the Country), it has been under elaboration for some time, and was initially developed through a series of public and private meetings in the US and Venezuela. According to Guaidó, the aims of the plan are to "stabilize the economy, attend to the humanitarian emergency immediately, rescue public services, and overcome poverty." It has provisions to revitalize PDVSA, restore the health sector, and offer assistance to the most poverty-stricken. Implementation of the plan requires Maduro's exit.

Plans to oust Maduro

Operation Freedom

Guaidó announced he would embark on a tour of the country beginning 16 March, to organize committees for ''Operación Libertad'' (trans. Operation Freedom or Operation Liberty) with the goal to claim the presidential residence, Miraflores Palace. From the first rally in Carabobo state, he said, "We will be in each state of Venezuela and for each state we have visited the responsibility will be yours, the leaders, the united, oorganize ourselves in freedom commands." As part of the ongoing tour, he visited Petare, regarded as one of the world's largest slums, on 12 April.

In an open assembly celebrating the anniversary of the 19 April 1810 date when the Venezuelan Independence Movement began, Guaidó offered the example that organized protests in Sudan led to the replacement of Omar al-Bashir, and called for "the greatest march" in history on 1 May, to "once and for all end this tragedy". Coinciding with his speech, NetBlocks stated that state-run CANTV again blocked access to social media in Venezuela.

On 30 April, Guaidó live-streamed a video of himself beside opposition leader Leopoldo López, freed from house arrest after being imprisoned for five years, with the two flanked by members of the Venezuelan armed forces, announcing the "final phase" of Operation Freedom. He stated: "People of Venezuela, it is necessary that we go out together to the street, to support the democratic forces and to recover our freedom. Organized and together, mobilize the main military units. People of Caracas, all to La Carlota." The Associated Press reported that López "had been released from house arrest by security forces adhering to an order from Guaidó." Several dozen military personnel and civilians joined Juan Guaidó in his call for an uprising.

The head of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, Manuel Cristopher Figuera, denounced the Maduro government and was dismissed from his positionNicolás Maduro destituyó a Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, director del Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia, que denunció la corrupción del régimen.
Publicado el 1 de mayo de 2019. Consultado el 1 de mayo de 2019. before going into hiding. Expected military defections did not happen. By the end of the day, one protester had died and at least 100 were injured; López was at the Spanish embassy, while 25 military personnel sought asylum in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas. On 1 May, Guaidó's call for the largest march in history did not materialize and his supporters were forced to retreat by security forces using tear gas. Guaidó acknowledged he had received insufficient military backing, and called for strikes beginning on 2 May, with the aim of a general strike later in May.

Guaidó's support began to drop following the incident. In ''The Miami Herald

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases