The 2020 Venezuelan National Assembly Delegated Committee election was to be held in the ordinary session of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
on 5 January, in which 160 deputies were to elect the legislature's board of directors for the year 2020–21: the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
, the first and second vice presidents, the secretary and the deputy secretary. It was the last such election of the
IV National Assembly.
The election was disrupted by the security forces physically preventing some opposition members, including
Juan Guaidó
Juan Gerardo Antonio Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician and opposition figure. He belonged to the social-democratic party Popular Will, and was a federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of V ...
, as well as members of the media, from entering the National Assembly building in
Caracas
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
.
The result was two competing claims to the presidency of the legislature: one by
Luis Parra, an independent legislator, and one by Guaidó, a legislator from the
Popular Will
Popular Will (, abbr. VP) is a political party in Venezuela founded by former Mayor of Chacao, Leopoldo López, who is its national co-ordinator. The party previously held 14 out of 167 seats in the Venezuelan National Assembly, the country ...
party and a claimant to
the country's disputed presidency. Parra was formerly a member of
Justice First
The Justice First () is a centre-right political party in Venezuela. Founded in 1992 as a civil association, it became a political party in 2000. Henrique Capriles was the candidate of the party in 2013 Venezuelan presidential election.
Hist ...
, but was expelled from the party on 20 December 2019, based on corruption allegations, which he denied. Inside the legislature, Parra was declared president. The opposition disputed this outcome, saying that there had not been a
quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...
and that the votes had not been counted.
Later in the day, a separate session took place at the ''
El Nacional'' newspaper building, where 100 of the 167 deputies voted to re-elect Guaidó as president.
Guaidó took an oath of office at a session on 7 January after forcing his way into the building through police barricades. On the same date, Parra reiterated his claim to the presidency.
As of January 2020,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
is the only foreign government to have officially recognized Luis Parra's presidency, while the United States, Canada, and most European and Latin American countries have recognized Guaido's re-election.
Voting system
Article 194 of the Venezuelan Constitution reads:
Distance voting
On 17 December 2019, the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
approved the modification of the Interior and Debate Regulations, specifically section 4, article 13 and articles 43 and 56, so that deputies who are exiled can vote from their country of residence.
The proposal, presented by
Democratic Action deputy
Dennis Fernández and approved by 93 deputies, includes the admission of information and communication technologies (ICT) to guarantee the quorum and the discussions. The deputies of the
United Socialist Party of Venezuela
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (, PSUV, ) is a Socialism, socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since 2007. It was formed from a merger of some of the political and social forces that support the Bolivar ...
withdrew from the session and did not vote. They were joined by deputies José Brito, Conrado Pérez and Luis Parra, all former militants, representing
Justice First
The Justice First () is a centre-right political party in Venezuela. Founded in 1992 as a civil association, it became a political party in 2000. Henrique Capriles was the candidate of the party in 2013 Venezuelan presidential election.
Hist ...
. The
Supreme Tribunal of Justice declared the modification void, since, according to Juan José Mendoza, president of the
Constituent National Assembly, the reform had no "legal effect" when it would "collide" with the provisions of the Constitution.
The opposition reported that the system would be used anyway.
Predictions
The incumbent president of the National Assembly,
Juan Guaidó
Juan Gerardo Antonio Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician and opposition figure. He belonged to the social-democratic party Popular Will, and was a federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of V ...
, announced he would run for re-election at the parliament headquarters, amid doubts about whether he would get the necessary votes (84). Guaidó received support in his re-election as president from 27 political parties, including those with parliamentary representation: Encuentro Ciudadano,
Voluntad Popular,
Acción Democrática
Democratic Action (, AD) is a Venezuelan social democratic and centre-left political party established in 1941. The party played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, leading the government during Venezuela's first democ ...
,
Un Nuevo Tiempo
Un Nuevo Tiempo (Spanish for 'A New Era', UNT) is a centre-left political party in Venezuela. It received 11% of the vote in the 2008 regional elections. The party arose in Zulia State, Venezuela's most populous, and remains far stronger in i ...
,
Primero Justicia,
La Causa R and a faction of
Copei.
Guaidó said that he had enough votes for his reelection, even without a distance vote from the thirty deputies abroad or in hiding, citing as evidence the fact that the modification of the internal and debate rules had been approved with 93 votes, more than the 84 needed.
The ''16 de Julio'' (16 July) group, made up of
Vente Venezuela and
Convergencia
Citizens' Movement (, MC) is a centre-left political party in Mexico. It was founded in 1999 under the name Convergence for Democracy, which was then shortened to Convergence in 2002 and changed to Citizens' Movement in 2011.
Established on 1 A ...
, led by deputy , did not offer details on who they would vote for in the 5 January election. They said they would respect the February 2016 governance agreement, which says that the presidency of the National Assembly would correspond to minority parties.
Alternate deputy of Juan Pablo Guanipa, José Sánchez "Mazuco", announced in the day of the election that he was operated and hospitalized, so he would not be able to attend to the session, but assured that his vote would not make a difference since the main deputy Guanipa would attend instead.
Background
Operación Alacrán and Armando.info investigation
In November 2019, deputy José Guerra denounced a strategy to "bribe" opposition lawmakers in what he called "Green Suitcase", with the aim of breaking the qualified majority that the opposition had in the National Assembly.
On 1 December, the website
Armando.info published an investigation reporting that nine parliamentaries mediated in favor of two businessmen linked with the government. After the investigation was published, the deputies
Luis Parra, José Brito, Conrado Pérez and José Gregorio "Goyo" Noriega were removed from their positions in
Justice First
The Justice First () is a centre-right political party in Venezuela. Founded in 1992 as a civil association, it became a political party in 2000. Henrique Capriles was the candidate of the party in 2013 Venezuelan presidential election.
Hist ...
and
Popular Will
Popular Will (, abbr. VP) is a political party in Venezuela founded by former Mayor of Chacao, Leopoldo López, who is its national co-ordinator. The party previously held 14 out of 167 seats in the Venezuelan National Assembly, the country ...
.
The Venezuelan opposition alleged that they were targeted by what they described as a "campaign of bribery and intimidation" by
Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...
's government in December 2019. Venezuelan lawmakers and the United States State Department said that opposition deputies, in parties led or allied with Guaidó, were being offered up to US$1 million to not vote for him.
Luis Parra and other opposition deputies were removed from their parties following allegations that they were being bribed by Maduro.
National Assembly deputies Ismael León and Luis Stefanelli directly accused Parra in December 2019 of attempting to bribe deputies to vote against Guaidó.
Parra denied the allegations and said he was open to being investigated for corruption.
Weeks prior to his investigation, Parra openly shared support for Guaidó and promoted his protest movement.
Deputy
Delsa Solórzano accused Nicolás Maduro on
CNN Radio Argentina of directing the operation. According to her, the government resorted to this method after failing to incarcerate or suspend the parliamentary immunity of the deputies, denouncing a considerable increase of political persecution as 5 January was approaching, explaining that security forces have gone to the houses of many deputies without alternates, and the only one with one, according to Solórzano, did accept the bribe.
On 3 January 2020, Nicmer Evans, a Caracas-based analyst, alleged that Maduro had managed to cause 14 deputies to not cast a vote for Guaidó through these tactics. Guaidó theoretically controlled 112 seats in the Assembly at the time, needing 84 votes to win.
Arrest and indictments
Additionally, the deputy
Juan Requesens, who has been
detained as a political prisoner since August 2018, had visitation rights removed for the day of the election, according to his sister
Rafaela
Rafaela is a city in Argentina, located in the central-west region of the Santa Fe Province. It serves as the head of the Castellanos Department and is the third most populous and significant urban center in the province, following Rosario, Santa ...
. In December 2019, deputy
Gilber Caro was also arrested with no charges.
Events and contested results
Raid of deputies' hotel
In the early morning of 5 January, members of the
police
The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
and
intelligence service
An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives.
Means of info ...
entered Paseo
Las Mercedes, a hotel in which many opposition deputies were staying. The officials said that they found explosive devices in the hotel.
Blockade of the Parliament
In the morning, deputies started passing the many entry checkpoints of the
Legislative Federal Palace. There was a moment were the National Guard started allowing the entry one by one. Opposition deputies denounced that the officials were deliberately slowing down the entry, and many lawmakers spoke with the minority leader, , to intercede, who went out several times. There was a moment where the opposition deputies in the last checkpoint were not allowed to enter.
Guaidó and other opposition deputies were blocked from entering by the
Bolivarian National Guard
The Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela ( - GNB), is a gendarmerie component of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela. The national guard can serve as gendarmerie, perform civil defense roles, or serve as a reserve light infantry force. The n ...
.
Journalists were also impeded from covering the event.
Security forces only allowed entry to reporters whose names appeared in a list provided by Maduro's
Ministry of Information.
State-run media was allowed to enter the building. About 35 of the national and international media outlets accredited by the National Assembly to cover the legislative sessions were not allowed entry.
The Venezuelan Press Workers Union published a list of nearly forty outlets that were denied entry to the National Assembly.
Some diplomatic representatives, including from
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, and
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, were denied entry as well, and the delegates from
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
and
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
were the only ones allowed access.
After 11:00 am (
VET), when the session was scheduled to have started, the pro-government deputies inside the session chamber started chanting "let the session begin". After chanting, singing, and taking pictures, the deputies simulated the election of a new parliament leadership, jokingly appointing
Óscar Figuera
Oscar or Oskar is a masculine given name of English and Irish origin.
Etymology
The name is derived from two elements in Irish: the first, ''os'', means "deer"; the second element, ''car'', means "loving" or "friend", thus "deer-loving one" or "f ...
, deputy of the
Communist Party of Venezuela
The Communist Party of Venezuela (, PCV) is a communist party in Venezuela. Founded in 1931, it is the oldest active political party in Venezuela, and was the country's main leftist party until it fractured into rival factions in 1971. The P ...
, as "self-proclaimed" president of the Assembly. Figuera pronounced a speech and joked that the appointed group would be transitional, since a new leadership would be appointed in short.
Deputy was blocked from entering and had her parliamentary credential snatched away, and deputies
Delsa Solórzano and were assaulted after attempting to enter. A rumor spread that Gilberto Sojo, alternate deputy of that had precautionary measures, could be arrested, causing Guaidó to decide to stay next to him. These events led to Guaidó to refuse when the National Guard asked him to enter if the remaining deputies, around twenty, did not enter. However, the officials never opened the entry access to him or asked for his credential, and on the contrary, reinforced the security in the perimeter.
Guaidó and the other opposition deputies were blocked from entering by the National Guard afterwards.
Guaidó tried to climb over a fence around the building, but was pushed back by members of the National Guard.
Luis Parra declares himself president
Briefly before the session started, outside the Legislative Palace, José Brito postulated Luis Parra as an alternative candidate to Guaidó, as well as
Franklyn Duarte and José Gregorio Noriega as first and second vicepresidents, respectively.
Francisco Torrealba assured that when Guaidó did not arrive at the scheduled time to open the session, the deputies inside the legislative chamber applied the Internal and Debate Rules, establishing that the oldest deputy would assume the Assembly Chair to moderate the election of a new leadership.
Luis Parra, who was granted access to the legislative palace before, announced by surprise that he would be appointed as president of the National Assembly.
[ The diplomatic delegates that were present withdrew.] Pro-government and opposition deputies started stepping up to the tribune and arguing, and deputies José Brito and Marcos Bozo had a scuffle. A group of men accompanied by pro-government deputies Nosliw Rodríguez and Ileana Medina tried to open the sound control room of the session chamber forcefully, kicking the door, while deputy María Beatriz Martínez tried to prevent it.
United Socialist Party of Venezuela
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (, PSUV, ) is a Socialism, socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since 2007. It was formed from a merger of some of the political and social forces that support the Bolivar ...
(PSUV) deputies gave instructions to Parra, Franklyn Duarte and José Gregorio Noriega, assuring that there was quorum for the appointment and asking him to take the offices of the Assembly's Chair. Francisco Torrealba instructed Parra to remain seated and to call the secretary. Other PSUV deputies handed a megaphone to Parra to let him speaker, and when they managed to enter into the sound control room they let him know that the chamber had sound he could use the microphones.
Luis Parra announced himself president of the National Assembly. Franklyn Duarte and José Gregorio Noriega were named first and second vice president of the National Assembly, respectively. Negal Morales was named secretary of the National Assembly. The quorum was not confirmed, and contrary to Article 8 of the Internal and Debate Rules, the vote for each position did not take place.
Speaking to reporters, Parra said that 140 lawmakers were present at his session, and that he had been elected with 81 votes. Pedro Carreño, a ruling party deputy, told AFP that there were 150 deputies present and that Parra received 84 votes, the exact majority needed to win. Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...
recognized Parra as the new president of the National Assembly, saying that "there was a rebellion inside the National Assembly" and that "the National Assembly has made a decision". Regarding the controversy of the opposition attempting to enter the Palacio Federal Legislativo
The Palacio Federal Legislativo ( English: Federal Legislative Palace), also known as the Capitolio, is a historic building in Caracas, Venezuela which houses the National Assembly. Located southwest of the Plaza Bolívar, it was built between 1 ...
, Maduro said "if the failed Guaidó did not want to enter it was because he did not have the votes", dismissing that Guaidó and his supporters were prevented from entering. Parra told state media that they started the session before Guaidó arrived, which is why he was not there. Francisco Torrealba described the proclamation as "unusual", but "valid" and "historic".
The opposition said that the election did not achieve quorum, and that Parra declared himself president without any votes counted. When reporters asked Parra for the official tally of votes–usually released the same the day–he said that it "was not available" and there was not a date for its release.
Opposition election
After being blocked from entering the Palacio Federal Legislativo, Guaidó announced that a separate session of the National Assembly would happen in the building of ''El Nacional'', a Venezuelan newspaper. National Assembly deputies signed their names on an attendance list upon entering the facility.
Stalin González, appointed as incidental secretary, explained that there were two attendance lists: the first one being that of those who could not start the session in the Legislative Federal Palace, 127 deputies, meaning that there was quorum but they were not allowed to enter. In the second list there also was quorum.
At the session, Guaidó was re-elected president of the National Assembly; there were 111 total votes from deputies, with 100 approving of Guaidó being reappointed president. Juan Pablo Guanipa and were elected as first and second vice-presidents, respectively, taking oath at the scene.
During Guaidó speech, he announced his resignation from Popular Will to secure more autonomy in his actions.
Several deputies abroad followed and endorsed the vote remotely from Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
.
Media censorship
State communications service CANTV
CANTV () is the state-run telephone and internet service provider in Venezuela. It was one of the first telephone service enterprises in the country, founded in 1930. The largest telecommunications provider in Venezuela, it was privatized in 19 ...
reportedly blocked access to social media sites Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
, Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
, and YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
on the day of the election. Block tracking website NetBlocks reported that the block began as the National Assembly session did, criticizing this.
Aftermath
The 16 July group, which previously said that they would vote based on the February 2016 governance agreement, voted to appoint Guaidó as president of the National Assembly after Parra's proclamation.
After Parra's proclamation, Negal Morales, Parra's-appointed-secretary, tweeted:
The tweet was deleted and Morales later tweeted that the statement was false, but the tweet was archived in Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...
before being deleted along with several responses about an hour after being published.
The COPEI party announced that deputies Franklyn Duarte and Manuel González would be sent to the party's disciplinary council for their involvement in Parra's proclamation. Franklyn Duarte was subsequently expelled from COPEI on 6 January 2020.
Follow-up session and re-investiture of Guaidó
On 7 January, Luis Parra and his allies started a legislative session on the national gas shortages. Parra started the meeting without the attendance figures that are ordinarily required to start a session. Guaidó and other opposition lawmakers were prevented from entering due to police barricades. Parra's session was stopped as opposition lawmakers forced their way in, and Parra was seen running away from the Legislative Palace as the opposition deputies entered. After electricity was cut in the parliament, Guaidó initiated a new parliamentary session and was sworn in to continue his role as president of the National Assembly. When leaving the parliament, security forces fired gas canisters. Some journalists and opposition lawmakers denounced being injured and robbed by armed civilian militias. After these events, Parra reaffirmed his claim to the presidency of National Assembly.
Sanctions by the United States
The United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments.
...
sanctioned seven individuals, "who, at the bidding of Maduro, attempted to block the democratic process in Venezuela", according to US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin
Steven Terner Mnuchin ( ; born December 21, 1962) is an American investment banker and film producer who served as the 77th United States secretary of the treasury as part of the first cabinet of Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. Serving for nearl ...
on 13 January 2020. The sanctioned have their assets in the US frozen and are not allowed to do business with US financial markets nor with US citizens. The list includes the members of Parra's appointed board of directors and his supporters: Franklyn Duarte, José Gregorio Noriega, Negal Morales, José Brito, Conrado Pérez, Adolfo Superlano and Luis Parra himself.
Hours later, Maduro's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza
Jorge Alberto Arreaza Montserrat (Venezuelan ; born 6 June 1973) is a Venezuelan politician who has held several important positions in the administration of President Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro. From August 2017 to August ...
published a statement saying that the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury seek to "interfere and undermine the proper functioning of democratic institutions, with the unusual intention to designate from Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
the authorities of the legislative power". The statement also argues that these tactics are "contrary to international law and undermine the stability, peace and self-determination of the Venezuelan people".
Investigation on Parra's tally
A report on the tally of votes–usually released the same the day of an election–was not available after Parra's took oath. On 13 January 2020, Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) ordered Parra's Board of Directors to submit the tally of votes and proof of quorum. The TSJ gave it five days to provide the report and ruled that provisionally, both Parra and Guaidó, as well as the vice-speaker designates declared by both sides, would enjoy legal immunity
Legal immunity, or immunity from prosecution, is a legal status wherein an individual or entity cannot be held liable for a violation of the law, in order to facilitate societal aims that outweigh the value of imposing liability in such cases. S ...
. The TSJ did not ask for Guaidó's tally. Ten days after the oath, the report was still missing. When asked, Parra's has given several versions on why the report is unavailable, including that the report might have been stolen.
The TSJ ruled in favor of Parra on 25 May 2020, who it recognizes as the sole president of the National Assembly.
Justice First complaint
On 16 January, José Brito and Conrado Pérez filed a complaint in the Supreme Tribunal of Justice against the leadership of Justice First
The Justice First () is a centre-right political party in Venezuela. Founded in 1992 as a civil association, it became a political party in 2000. Henrique Capriles was the candidate of the party in 2013 Venezuelan presidential election.
Hist ...
, the party they were expelled from. The deputies asked to be restituted in the party, saying that there was no justification to be expelled from Justice First and their due process, right of defense and presumption of innocence. They also asked the high court to appoint a new leadership "that was in Venezuela", since the current one was in exile, and to summon new internal elections.
The deputies were received by the president of the Constitutional Chamber and the meeting lasted a little more than an hour. Outside the Supreme Tribunal, a group of around two hundred people met in support of the deputies. '' El Pitazo'' reported that earlier in the morning, some persons were handing out shirts of the party, most apparently new. Several demonstrators interviewed by the outlet expressed ignoring the reasons of the meeting or the contents of the complaint introduced. In some cases, they affirmed having been taken by bus, could not say for long they were part of Justice First, did not know that Luis Parra was not present or declared being paid for assisting. The party's secretary general, Tomás Guanipa, declared that the deputies sought to give the party's electoral card to Nicolás Maduro.
Disrupted sessions and attacks on deputies
Guaidó called for a rally to follow him to a parliamentary session to be held on 11 January, but after security forces barricaded the parliament the session was held in the headquarters of ''El Nacional.''
Security forces returned to barricade the legislative palace in follow-up session scheduled by Guaidó on 15 January. Colectivos, pro-Maduro civilian paramilitary groups, appeared on the scene and attacked the caravan of the lawmakers that tried to reach parliament. Gunshots were heard and a car carrying lawmakers, transporting Guaido's vicepresident Berrizbeitia, got its windows shattered, but no injuries were reported. Guaidó decried what he called an "ambush against the Federal Palace". The session was moved to El Hatillo Municipality
El Hatillo Municipality () is an administrative division of the Miranda State, State of Miranda, Venezuela; along with Baruta Municipality, Baruta, Chacao Municipality, Chacao, Libertador Municipality (Venezuelan Capital District), Libertador a ...
in Caracas. Diosdado Cabello, president of Constituent National Assembly, a different legislative body, congratulated colectivos for "defending these spaces belonging to the Bolivarian Revolution
The Bolivarian Revolution is a social revolution and ongoing political process in Venezuela that was started by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement and later the United Socialist Party of Venezuela ...
".
Opposition deputies were denied entry to parliament for a third time by security forces and colectivos on 21 January. Guaidó's headquarters were raided afterwards by intelligence SEBIN forces. The same day, an opposition deputy, Ismael León, was arrested by Venezuelan special police forces FAES, according to members of Popular Will. FAES operations usually focus on poor neighborhoods and the squad was accused of carrying out thousands of extrajudicial killings by the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. This arrest, alongside Caro's arrest in November 2019, would be the first two times that FAES deals with public figures.
In March, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...
, Michelle Bachelet
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...
, in an updated report of human right violations in Venezuela, expressed concerns on the arrested lawmakers, Gilber Caro and Ismael León.
Protests
Several thousands of Venezuelans, led by Guaidó, carried a rally with the objective to take back the Parliament on 10 March 2020. The march was halted by security forces that blocked the roads and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Tuesday legislative session was later carried by opposition lawmakers in Las Mercedes's square in Caracas. After the rally, special police forces, raided an hotel and detained three lawmakers that were staying there; two of them were later released according to congress. Maduro administration called a counter-protest the same day, a rally that was attended by hundreds of red-shirted supporters. Protests were canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela
The COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first two cases in Venezuela were confirmed on 13 March 2020; the ...
.
Reactions
Domestic
*Vice President
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Delcy Rodríguez
Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez (born 18 May 1969) is a Venezuelan lawyer, diplomat, and politician who has served as the vice president of Venezuela since 2018. Rodríguez has held several positions during the presidencies of Hugo Chávez and ...
told US Vice President
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The ...
Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
to "abstain from your vulgar interference and address the serious problems suffered by your country caused by the irrational warmongering" and that the "United States cannot impose its arrogance on the decisions that only belong to sovereign Venezuela." Her statement comes after Pence congratulated Guaido on his reelection.
* Maduro's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza
Jorge Alberto Arreaza Montserrat (Venezuelan ; born 6 June 1973) is a Venezuelan politician who has held several important positions in the administration of President Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro. From August 2017 to August ...
rejected the "vulgar interventionism" of Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
in the election of the parliament's leadership. Arreaza also told to Mike Pompeo
Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American retired politician who served in the First presidency of Donald Trump#Administration, first administration of Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) fr ...
that "your strategy against Venezuela failed, as well as losing the main puppet (referring to Juan Guaidó
Juan Gerardo Antonio Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician and opposition figure. He belonged to the social-democratic party Popular Will, and was a federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of V ...
).
*The United Socialist Party of Venezuela
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (, PSUV, ) is a Socialism, socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since 2007. It was formed from a merger of some of the political and social forces that support the Bolivar ...
(PSUV), the ruling political party, has called for demonstrations on 14 January in support of Luis Parra and rejecting the violence "committed by right-wing sectors of the opposition" at the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
on 5 January.
* Javier Bertucci, president of the Esperanza por El Cambio party and former presidential candidate, proposed to repeat the elections with the participation of all the deputies, diplomatic representatives and journalists.
* Movimiento Estudiantil confirmed their support for Juan Guaidó, condemned Parra's proclamation and assured that they would accompany the deputies for the scheduled parliamentary section on 7 January. Guaidó endorsed the call to assist by the Student Movement.
* The members of the Constitutional Law Faculty of the Central University of Venezuela
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
(UCV) described in a press conference the vote where Guaidó was elected as "legal and legitimate". Its director, Tulio Álvarez, warned and advised that the National Assembly had to declare a "parliamentary emergency" as possible, which is established in the Internatal and Debates Rules of the Assembly and based on the aggressions that the Assembly has suffered since 2015 and that his Faculty had documented.
*The presidency of the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela warned that Luis Parra's election was "a new manifestation of the totalitarian ideology of those who hold political power. They have promoted and protected the non-recognition of the lack of autonomy of the legitimate National Assembly; and, at the same time, they intend to recognize leadership invalidly elected against all constitutional legality".
International
UN member states
*: Foreign Minister Felipe Solá
Felipe Solá (born 23 July 1950) is an Argentine agricultural engineer and politician. He previously served as Governor of Buenos Aires Province, from 2002 to 2007, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship under President Alberto Fernández ...
tweeted: "Forcibly preventing the functioning of the national assembly means condemning oneself to international isolation".
* Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
Sebastian Kurz (; born 27 August 1986) is an Austrian former politician who served twice as Chancellor of Austria, first from 2017 to 2019 and then again from 2020 to 2021.
Kurz was born and raised in Meidling, Vienna. He entered politics by ...
reaffirmed Austria's support for Guaido, stating that his calls for free and fair presidential elections to restore democracy is crucial.
*: Foreign Minister Karen Longaric rejected the "manipulation and intervention of Nicolás Maduro" and reiterated its support to Juan Guaidó. Interim president Jeanine Áñez
Jeanine Áñez Chávez (; born 13 June 1967) is a Bolivian lawyer, politician, and television presenter who served as the 66th president of Bolivia from 2019 to 2020. A former member of the Social Democratic Movement, she previously served two ...
strongly rejected the intervention of the Maduro regime against the National Assembly of Venezuela
The National Assembly () is the federal legislature of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which was first elected in 2000 under the 1999 constitution. It is a unicameral body made up of a variable number of members, who are elected by a ...
and reiterated support for Guaido and its members.
*: Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne
François-Philippe Champagne (; born June 25, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has been Minister of Finance (Canada), Minister of Finance since March 14, 2025. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Party, Champagne was elected to the ...
condemned that security forces did not allow deputies to meet in the National Assembly.
*: Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo accused Maduro of forcefully preventing Guaidó's re-election and tweeted "Brazil will not recognize any outcome of this violence and this affront to democracy".
*: Foreign Minister Teodoro Ribera condemned the "intimidatory acts" of "Maduro's dictatorship" against opposition deputies.
*: Foreign Ministry rejected Parra's proclamation, considering the process as "fraudulent" and without guarantees and condemning that it was done without the presence of Guaidó and other opposition deputies.
*: Foreign Ministry "strongly condemns violence against democracy in Venezuela".
*: Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček
Tomáš Petříček (born 27 September 1981) is a Czech Republic, Czech politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Minister of Foreign Affairs from October 2018 to April 2021. He served as Deputy Minister of Fore ...
supported Guaido's reelection and stated that actions against a democratically elected National Assembly constitute another violation of the rule of law.
*: President Lenín Moreno condemned the "abuse" against Guaidó at the National Assembly and expressed his support for the opposition.
*: Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani congratulated Guaido on his reelection and condemned unlawful acts against democracy and Constitution of Venezuela as "unacceptable".
*: The German Foreign Office congratulated Guaido on his reelection. It has also urged the Maduro regime to respect the democratic rights of the National Assembly of Venezuela.
*: The Government of Japan reaffirmed its support of Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela. It also expressed concern about acts against democracy in the country.
*: Foreign Ministry urged Venezuela to democratically decide the leadership of the National Assembly "in accordance with the constitution".
*: Foreign Minister Stef Blok welcomed the reelection of Guaido and reaffirmed that the Kingdom "supports Guaido's efforts for a peaceful solution to the crisis in Venezuela".
*: Foreign Minister Antonio Rivas condemned the "violent repression" against opposition deputies.
* : Foreign Ministry considered the "new leadership of parliament to be the result of a legitimate democratic procedure conducive to the return of the Venezuelan political struggle to the constitutional field".
*: Foreign & Commonwealth Office reiterated its support to Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela and condemned the actions taken by Maduro's government to "frustrate the democratic process of the Venezuelan National Assembly on 5 January".
* : Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American retired politician who served in the First presidency of Donald Trump#Administration, first administration of Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) fr ...
congratulated Juan Guaidó's re-election and condemned "the failed efforts of the former Maduro regime to negate the will of the democratically elected National Assembly". Vice President Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
called Guaido congratulating him on his reelection and reaffirmed his "support to the Venezuelan people". The US government later implemented sanctions against Luis Parra and six of his parliamentary backers.
*: Both the incumbent and the recently elected administration decried Maduro's government actions. President-elect Luis Lacalle Pou
Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (, ; born 11 August 1973), is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer, who served as the 42nd president of Uruguay from 2020 to 2025.
The son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle Pou attended ...
described it as a "new coup to democratic institutions".
Non-UN member states
*: Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Behgjet Pacolli
Behgjet Isa Pacolli (; (born 30 August 1951) is an Albanian-Kosovan Swiss politician and businessman who served as the first deputy prime minister of Kosovo and minister of foreign affairs from 2017 to 2019 under the Ramush Haradinaj government. ...
congratulated Guaido on his re-election according to the Venezuelan constitution. Pacolli reaffirmed its support to him and the Venezuelan people for its calls to restore democracy & prosperity.
* : Taiwan's Minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
(MOFA) congratulated Guaidó and reiterated its support for free elections in Venezuela. The ministry says that Taiwan is ready to work with like-minded partners in further assisting the people restore the country's democracy & prosperity.
Supranational bodies
*: Secretary General António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...
ask "to lower tensions and to work towards a peaceful and sustainable solution to the political crisis".
*: The General Secretariat welcomed the re-election of the "interim President and President of the National Assembly Juan Guaidó" and "reiterates its condemnation of the fraudulent attempt to strip Juan Guaidó, with the use of violence and intimidation, of his powers as interim President of Venezuela and President of the National Assembly of the country".
* International Contact Group on Venezuela: In a joint statement from 12 countries of the Contact Group on Venezuela (not including Mexico and Uruguay), reiterated its support for Juan Guaidó as leader of the National Assembly and considered Parra's election as illegitimate and undemocratic.
*Lima Group
The Lima Group (GL; Spanish and , French: Groupe de Lima) is a multilateral body that was established following the Lima Declaration on 8 August 2017 in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where representatives of 12 countries met in order to establ ...
: The Lima Group (except for Argentina and Mexico) backed Juan Guaidó re-election and condemned the "force and intimidation tactics" against the deputies.
*: Peter Stano, Foreign Affairs and Security Policy spokesperson, catalogued the "irregularities" as "not acceptable" and "not compatible" with Venezuelan law. The European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
(EU) said on 6 January 2020 that it would continue to engage with Guaidó "and other representatives of the outgoing National Assembly" but did not explicitly use the term "interim president" as it has in the past, which was interpreted by an analyst from the Washington Office on Latin America
The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) is a United States non-governmental organization (NGO) whose stated goal is to promote human rights, democracy, and social and economic justice in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Washington Off ...
as a sign of cooling international support for Guaidó, although an EU official said that there had been no change in policy. The European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
affirmed its support for Guaidó on 16 January. The EU confirmed its recognition of Guaidó in June 2020 in response to the TSJ confirmation of Parra. The EU "considers that the voting session that led to the 'election' of Luis Parra was not legitimate", EU Foreign Affairs chief Josep Borrell
Josep Borrell Fontelles (; born 24 April 1947) is a Spanish politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Spani ...
said.
Public opinion
According to a survey carried out by Datanálisis in early February 2020: 39% of Venezuelans consider that there is a legitimate National Assembly presided by Juan Guaidó, 36% consider that there is no legitimate National Assembly for the moment, 16% does not know or does not answer and 10% consider that there is a legitimate National Assembly presided by Luis Parra.
See also
* Operación Alacrán
* Storming of the Venezuelan National Congress
* 2017 Venezuelan National Assembly attack
Notes
References
{{Crisis in Venezuela, state=expanded
Elections in Venezuela
National Assembly (Venezuela)
Elections of legislative speakers
Electoral fraud in Venezuela
Electoral violence
2020 in Venezuela
Venezuelan presidential crisis
January 2020 in Venezuela