The South American country, with a population of about 29 million, has over 60,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, a number its health workers claim would rise if testing is increased.

Speaking on Sunday during the weekly meeting with his COVID-19 prevention commission, Maduro said going back to the classrooms may worsen the situation in the country.

Maduro said after analysing the results of some surveys, he decided to keep schools suspended and ordered the immediate adaptation of the Vive TV channel for tele-education.

“There is no face-to-face return to classes in Venezuela. It’s not helpful for the control of the pandemic,” Maduro said.

Many parents have, however, expressed concerns about Venezuela’s internet speed, said to be one of the slowest in Latin America.

They further argued that with the frequent power cuts experienced in the country, neither online nor TV classes are a viable alternative.

Some critics of the government also said they fear lessons broadcast on state channels will be used by the socialist government to “indoctrinate” children.

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, some states including Lagos and Ekiti have ordered schools to resume academic activities.

Also, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, the minister of state for education, had said in August that tertiary institutions in the country will reopen “very soon”.

The post COVID-19: Venezuelan schools to remain closed till 2021 appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

Just like us, Venezuela is rich in oil, very rich. At a time, the county’s problem was not money, but how to spend it. Just like Nigeria.

And quite like us again, the South American country did not look inwards. It planted nothing, did not invest in agriculture, since there was an endless flow of oil wealth. Life was one long Christmas, and it was jingle bells all the way.

But the rainy days came, as they would always come. And the bells stopped jingling. Rain began to beat Venezuela badly. Nowhere to take refuge. It did not buy umbrellas in the time of affluence, so no shelter from the rains.

From the days of the immediate past President, Hugo Chavez, to the current Nicolas Maduro, the country has seen that life is not one long honeymoon. The egungun festival would always end, no matter how fun and pleasurable it has been.

From a land flowing with milk and honey, what are the characteristics of Venezuelan life today? Hyperinflation. Starvation. Diseases. Crime and high mortality rates. Massive emigration, the worst in the history of the country.

And the half has never yet been told. By 2017, over 75% of the population had reportedly lost 8 kg (19 lbs) due to hunger. There are interminable food queues, and people even cross the borders, looking for sustenance. At least 94% live in grinding poverty, more than 10% (3.4 million) have left the country, and 25% needed one form of humanitarian assistance or the other.

How did a country that was once an oasis of pleasure get to this sorry pass? Simple. Economic mismanagement, sole dependence on oil. More than 70% of food needs were being imported, and why not, since petroleum-dollars were flowing. Then, the crunch came. Oil prices crashed, and Venezuela crashed with it. Just like it almost happened to Nigeria. Almost. If not for a simple man from Daura called Muhammadu Buhari.

Imagine pediatric wards in hospitals filled with underweight babies, who still continue to suck the shriveled breasts of equally emaciated mothers. Close your eyes and try to envision hitherto middle class adults now rummaging through rubbish heaps for scraps, with the remainder of what used to be neckties now hanging limply over threadbare shirts and suits that have turned to ‘coats,’ looking more like parachutes on thin shoulders . That was what Nigeria almost became. Almost. And by today, with COVID-19 ravaging the world, all international borders closed, oil prices crashed and external reserves dwindling, that is where we would have been. If God had not brought Muhammadu Buhari our way in 2015.

When he got to office as President, oil prices had crashed from an Olympian height of 100 dollars per barrel (it even went as high as 143 dollars), and then dropped to less than 30 dollars. Where were the savings during the boom years? None. Where were the foreign reserves? Mere pittance. Empty national treasury. Excess crude oil account, depleted. Nothing in reserve, local or foreign. The Venezuelan situation was at the very doors. But how did we avert it? How did we avoid the journey to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela?

President Buhari knew that we had to stave off the evil day by getting to work immediately. Whatever money we had left must be put where our mouth was, otherwise danger loomed.

With a rallying cry, the President urged Nigerians to return to the land. They obeyed. God also showed mercy by giving consistently good rainy seasons back to back. And today, we can count our blessings.

In late 2015, the Buhari Administration came with the Anchor Borrowers Program, championed by the Central Bank. It was launched in Kebbi, and the vision was to grant farmers access to finance, so that they could grow rice, wheat, ginger, maize, soybeans, and many other products.

And what a revolution has been sparked off. When we launched in Kebbi in 2015, it was in a vast open land. When we went back to same state earlier this year for the Argungu International Fishing Festival, the heap of rice was almost touching the sky. We once had groundnut pyramids in this country. Now, they have been succeeded by rice pyramids. Just because a President came, and had a dream. He then turned the dream to reality.

I once visited one vast farm in Nasarawa State run by Nigeria Farmers Group and Cooperative Society. It is promoted by a man named Retson Tedheke, started in 2017, and there you have professionals from different disciplines, engaged in farming. Very impressive. I was told Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had also been there. The place sure is dreamland, and who would have thought a prophet could come from a small town like Nazareth? But it’s happening, right before our eyes. Thanks to the man from Daura.

Each time, as I see palliative materials being handed out at this time of health and economic emergency, and I behold heaps and heaps of bags of rice, all locally grown, I imagine what else could have happened. What if we had needed to import, and there was no foreign currency, and all international borders were closed? Hunger ooo. Starvation ooo. Weeping and gnashing of teeth. But we averted the journey to Venezuela. We avoided the trip to Caracas, because a man called Muhammadu Buhari came.

There was a time we imported beans even from Burkina Faso. Rice from Thailand, and from everywhere under the sun. Milk, tomato paste, palm oil, vegetable oil, even toothpick. Everything was imported. Today, we rank highest in Africa in rice cultivation and milling, with over seven million tonnes yearly. Jobs have been created in millions, and food sufficiency has almost been achieved.

Cotton farmers were funded last year to start production. It means a rebound for the textiles sector soon, and jobs and jobs.

Fertilizer that used to be imported at hundreds of millions of dollars, with the attendant sleaze that attended it, is now done locally. Nigeria and Morocco are in alliance, and the project is driven right from the Presidency. Not less than 11 moribund blending plants have been resuscitated, and we now produce about 1.3 million tonnes . Prices of fertilizer have crashed from N15,000 to N5,500 per bag. And set to crash further. Farmers now have direct access to the product, and at affordable prices. Just because a man from Daura had a dream, and turned it to reality.

Agriculture has contributed a great deal to our Gross Domestic Product in the past four years. The private sector has equally keyed in. Dangote Group is already test running a two billion dollars fertilizer plant, which will see us become a net exporter of the product. And many others.

A presidential aspirant recently described the closure of our land borders as an ‘insane’ policy. May we have many more positive insanities. If President Buhari was not proactive, even prescient, to have closed our borders, where would local farmers be today? Every food product was being smuggled into the country, thus discouraging local initiatives. And when borders were closed, apart from the security benefits, local production of food items thrived-rice, poultry, vegetables, tomatoes, other food products boomed. Yet, somebody says it’s ‘insanity,’ because the selfish interests of buccaneers were affected. More of such insanities, please.

The Coronavirus pandemic is severely testing our capacities to feed ourselves. And we are making a good showing, acquitting ourselves creditably.

Despite the crash in the global economy, we are continuing with key infrastructure projects, not borrowing to pay salaries as we did in the height of the 2014 oil boom. An army of entrepreneurs is being created in different spheres. All because a man from Daura had a dream, and turned it to reality. May God bless this man. Amen, somebody!

Harry Belafonte, King of Calypso music, sang the hit track, Matilda.
“Hey! Matilda, Matilda, Matilda, she take me money and run Venezuela.

Five hundred dollars, friends, I lost
Woman even sell me cart and horse!

Heya! Matilda, she take me money and run Venezuela.”

But now that Venezuela is the way it is, with President Maduro striving day and night to turn things round, where will Matilda run to? Nigeria, I guess.

*Adesina is Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Buhari

The post Averting the road to Venezuela, by Femi Adesina appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

Until recently, some of the world’s largest petroleum and refining firms, including U.S. companies Chevron and Valero Energy, lined up to take Venezuelan oil cargoes and PDVSA had a rigorous vetting process to ensure potential buyers had the capacity to pay.

But U.S. sanctions imposed in January in an effort to oust Maduro have driven away many of those customers. PDVSA’s exports have slumped by more than a fifth since sanctions were imposed, according to company records and Refinitiv Eikon data. Its biggest buyers today are Chinese and Indian companies.

Three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that directors at a March 14 meeting of PDVSA’s board temporarily waived some requirements for new customers or suppliers, including that of having at least two years’ experience in the oil industry.

Neither PDVSA nor Venezuela’s oil ministry responded to requests for comment for this story.

In the wake of the changes, a Turkish company called Grupo Iveex Insaat started buying Venezuelan oil in April, according to documents related to PDVSA loading plans and internal reports on exports and imports for the first half of the year reviewed by Reuters.

Istanbul Chamber of Commerce records show that Iveex Insaat was formed less than a year ago with capital of just 10,000 lira ($1,775) and listed “residential construction” as its main activity.

It was one of only five firms that loaded tankers to take Venezuela’s upgraded crude – among its most valuable oil – from April through June, the documents showed. Iveex loaded four cargoes of Venezuelan crude and products in April – equivalent to just under 8 percent of Venezuela’s oil exports – and nothing in May or June, according to PDVSA documents.

Turkish corporate records show Iveex Insaat is owned by Miguel Silva, a Venezuelan businessman who heads the Caracas-based Venezuelan Exporters’ Chamber and also served as a housing ministry commissioner in Maduro’s administration.

Reuters was unable to determine the terms under which Iveex Insaat is receiving Venezuelan oil and was unable to confirm who would ultimately buy and refine the crude, as the company has no refineries.

Neither Iveex Insaat nor Silva responded to requests for comment.

The PDVSA source, a shipping broker and a maritime inspector – all of whom declined to be named – told Reuters that Iveex had agreed to deliver refined products to Venezuela in exchange for receiving crude. With its refinery network crippled by maintenance issues, the OPEC nation has struggled with severe fuel shortages in recent months.

The two other companies that only began chartering tankers to take PDVSA’s oil after sanctions hit are Panama-registered Melaj Offshore Corp and Sahara Energy, a unit of Nigeria-based Sahara Group. The two loaded PDVSA oil cargoes shortly after the sanctions were announced, internal company documents show.

Sahara Energy did not respond to emails and calls to request comment. Reuters was unable to find contact details for Melaj. TIES WITH TURKEY

The deals with Iveex highlight growing commercial links between Venezuela and Turkey, whose President Tayyip Erdogan has stood by Maduro, alongside Russia, Cuba and China.

Turkey is one of the main buyers of the South American country’s gold, which has become an important source of cash as oil output falls.

Silva registered Iveex Insaat with a Turkish partner named Erhan Kap on Sept. 27, 2018, just a week after Maduro visited Istanbul.

Kap, who is an Istanbul tour guide according to his social media profiles, declined to comment when reached by phone.

According to Silva’s biography on the Iveex website, Silva has had a number of posts within Maduro’s administration, including serving in the national Housing Ministry in 2014 and coordinating a government development plan for the western state of Tachira in 2013.

Venezuela’s information ministry – which responds to media requests on the government’s behalf – did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Iveex’s website says it is a “physical commodity trading and distribution company” focused on petroleum products and crude oil with offices in London, Istanbul and Caracas. It says it uses a “leased fleet of regional vessels.”

While the website describes “long experience” in oil trading and distribution, a review of previous iterations of the site using the Internet Archive shows references to petroleum trading were added after November 2018.

PDVSA sold barrels for the first time to Iveex Insaat in April, when it loaded the tanker Seamuse with 294,413 barrels of natural gasoline and light virgin naphtha bound for the Middle East, trade documents from PDVSA show.

The vessel has not yet discharged and remains anchored near a Kuwaiti port, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. Days later, a similar cargo was loaded for Iveex on the tanker Vinjerac.

The Turkish firm also loaded the tankers Delta Kanaris and Delta Harmony with more than 1 million barrels each of Hamaca crude, an upgraded oil that PDVSA has struggled to sell because its primary market was the United States.

However, these three vessels remain anchored off Venezuelan ports. PDVSA has not allowed them to sail until Iveex delivers at least one of several fuel cargoes intended to offset the first cargo it took, the PDVSA source and two shipping sources said.

The post Squeezed by sanctions, Venezuela sells oil to tiny Turkish firm appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

“Members of the Sebin intelligence service, wearing masks and carrying long guns, members of the national police and the military blocked the entrance.

“They were investigating the possible presence of an explosive device inside the National Assembly building,’’ lawmakers said.

Recently, one opposition lawmaker was arrested and several took refuge in foreign embassies in Caracas or fled the country as President Nicolas Maduro cracked down on allies of opposition leader Juan Guaido, following a failed effort to convince members of the military to rise up against Maduro in April.

Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled Assembly, in January invoked Venezuela’s constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

Over 50 countries have recognised him as the country’s rightful leader and say the assembly is its last remaining democratic institution.

“This is all part of a show to prevent the National Assembly from functioning. This is a dictatorship that goes after dissidents, and we are fighting for a political change,” lawmaker Juan Pablo Guanipa told Reuters

Venezuela’s information ministry, which handles media inquiries on behalf of the government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Maduro, a socialist, calls Guaido a puppet of the U.S. seeking to oust him in a coup.

The government stripped the assembly of most of its powers after the opposition won a majority in 2015 elections.

Lawmakers loyal to Maduro generally do not attend the sessions, however, they go to meetings of the constituent assembly, a legislative “superbody” created in 2017 that meets in the same building on Wednesdays.

The “superbody” is an all-powerful legislature controlled by the ruling Socialist Party and whose powers supersede those of the National Assembly.

Tuesday’s session was scheduled for 10 a.m at 1400 GMT, however, it had started.

The lawmakers were set to discuss the Supreme Court’s stripping of several of their colleagues’ parliamentary immunity and the arrest of Edgar Zambrano, the Assembly’s vice president and an outspoken critic of Maduro.

Opposition lawmaker Jorge Millan told newsmen that the report of “bombs” in the building was false.

“It is a trick to prevent the parliament from functioning today. If we do not have a session today, we will do it tomorrow,” he said.

The post Venezuela security forces block opposition lawmakers from entering parliament appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

The Argentine great, who coaches Dorados de Sinaloa, had dedicated a 3-2 win over Tampico Madero to Maduro and Venezuela in a news conference at the end of last month.

The body said in a statement that Maradona had been fined an unspecified sum for violating the federation’s code of ethics which mandates political neutrality.

Maradona had said he was dedicating the victory to Maduro and Venezuelans caught up in an economic crisis.

He also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump

The post Maradona fined after dedicating win to Venezuela’s Maduro appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

This comes as a setback for President Nicolas Maduro’s efforts to hold onto the country’s fast-shrinking reserves.

Maduro’s government has since 2014 used financial operations known as gold swaps to use its international reserves to gain access to cash after a slump in oil revenues left it struggling to obtain hard currency.

In the past two years, however, it has struggled to recover its collateral.

Under the terms of the 2015 deal with Citigroup’s Citibank, Venezuela was due to repay $1.1 billion of the loan on March 11, according to four sources familiar with the situation. The remainder of the loan comes due next year.

Citibank plans to sell the gold held as a guarantee – which has a market value of roughly $1.358 billion, to recover the first tranche of the loan and will deposit the excess of roughly $258 million in a bank account in New York, two of the sources said.

The ability of Maduro’s government to repay the loans have been complicated by the South American country’s dire economic situation as well as financial sanctions imposed by the United States and some European nations.

Most western nations say that Maduro’s re-election to a six-year term last year was marred by fraud and have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

Guaido invoked Venezuela’s constitution to announce an interim presidency in January.

However, Maduro retains control over state institutions in Venezuela and has the support of the powerful military. He has branded Guaido a U.S. puppet.

With Washington’s support, Guaido’s team has taken control of state oil company PDVSA’s U.S. refining subsidiary but its attempt to negotiate a 120-day extension of the repurchase deadline for the collateral was unsuccessful, the sources said.

“Citibank was told that there was a force majeure event in Venezuela, so the grace period was necessary, but they did not grant it,” said one of the sources, who belongs to Guaido’s team.

A Venezuelan government source familiar with the matter confirmed that the country’s central bank did not transfer the money to Citibank this month.

Citigroup declined to comment. The Venezuelan central bank did not immediately respond to a request for information.

In a report presented to the U.S. securities regulator in February, Citibank said Venezuela’s Central Bank had agreed four years ago to buy back in March 2019 a “significant volume of gold” as part of a contract signed to obtain some 1.6 billion dollar.

Citibank said that, following the transaction, it owned the gold.

Guaido is attempting to freeze bank accounts and gold owned by Venezuela abroad, much of which remains in the Bank of England.

At the end of 2018, the central bank paid investment bank Deutsche Bank AG about 700 million dollars to recover ownership of a portion of gold used as collateral for a loan.

However, the bullion remained in the custody of the Bank of England, despite the Central Bank’s request to repatriate it.

In light of that transaction, the sources said there was no incentive for the Central Bank to repay Citibank.

Guaido’s team also began preparing this month for a possible debt restructuring in a bid to ease payments and stop any hostile action by creditors, said two sources who took part in the discussion.

In meetings between members of Guaido’s team with legal advisors in the United States, there were discussions of starting renegotiations soon not only with Venezuelan bondholders, but also with the Chinese and Russian governments and companies affected by a wave of nationalizations, said the sources.

“We want to address the debt in a comprehensive way. We calculate that it totals $200 billion,” said one of the sources.

The Citgo refinery unit, Venezuela’s main asset abroad, is under scrutiny because it serves as a guarantee for the issuance of a PDVSA bond and a loan from Russian oil company Rosneft.

Guaido’s advisers are also evaluating the payment in the coming weeks of around $72 million in interest coming due on PDVSA’s 2020 bonds to avoid any action by creditors against Citgo.

The post Citigroup to sell Venezuelan gold in setback to President Maduro – Sources appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

France, Spain, Germany, Britain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands’ coordinated move came after the expiry of an eight-day ultimatum for Maduro to call a new election.

The Venezuelan leader, accused of running the OPEC nation of 30 million people like a dictatorship and wrecking its economy, has defied them and said European rulers are sycophantically following President Donald Trump.

Guaido, who leads the National Assembly, declared himself caretaker leader last month in a move splitting international powers and bringing Venezuelans onto the streets.

Trump immediately recognized him but European Union nations were nervous over the global precedent.

Russia and China, who have poured billions of dollars of investment and loans into Venezuela, are supporting Maduro in an extension of their geopolitical tussle with the United States.

“From today, we will spare no effort in helping all Venezuelans achieve freedom, prosperity and harmony,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, urging both fair elections and humanitarian aid.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Venezuelans had suffered enough. “The oppression of the illegitimate, kleptocratic Maduro regime must end,” he said.

Maduro, 56, a former union leader, bus driver and foreign minister, replaced ex-president Hugo Chavez in 2013 after his death from cancer. But he has presided over an economic collapse and exodus of 3 million Venezuelans.

He blames Washington for an “economic war” and coup pretensions aimed at controlling oil. Venezuela has the largest reserves in the world, but production has plunged under Maduro.

Critics say incompetent policies and corruption have impoverished a once-wealthy nation while dissent has been brutally crushed.

Russia accused European nations of foreign meddling.

“We think that imposing some kind of decisions or trying to legitimize an attempt to usurp power is both direct and indirect interference in Venezuela’s internal affairs,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The Maduro government is paying both Russian and Chinese loans with oil.

He won re-election last year, but critics say it was a sham. Two opposition rivals with a good chance of winning were barred from standing, while food handouts and other subsidies to hungry Venezuelans were linked with political support.

Italy’s 5-Star Movement, which makes up half of the ruling coalition, dissented from the European stance, saying it would never recognize self-appointed leaders.

“Handing out ultimatums, sanctions, freezing Venezuelan goods … It would mean opening the road to a military intervention,” Alessandro Di Battista, a prominent 5-Star figure, said on Sunday.

But its governing partner, the League, has backed Guaido.

“I’m with the Venezuelan people against regimes like that of Maduro, based on violence, fear and hunger,” League leader, Matteo Salvini, said last month.

In an interview with Corriere Della Sera newspaper on Monday, Guaido said he “will do whatever it takes” to persuade Italy to join the position of other EU nations.

In addition to the European pressure, a bloc of Latin American nations plus Canada were to meet on Monday seeking to maintain pressure on Maduro.

The post Major European nations recognize Guaido as Venezuela president appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

The comments come one day after Maduro cut diplomatic ties with the US. He was angry after they recognised an opposition figure, Juan Guaidó, as interim president on Wednesday.

Bolton told reporters outside the White House the issue was “complicated” but they were working on a plan to funnel funds to Guaidó instead.

Figures from the Trump administration are continuing to try and compound pressure on Maduro as the international community remains divided in its support of him.

Russia has condemned foreign powers for backing Mr Guaidó, saying the move violated international law and was a “direct path to bloodshed”.

Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, has now requested a UN Security Council meeting be held on the issue on Saturday.

At a meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) on Thursday he described Maduro’s government as “morally bankrupt” and “undemocratic to the core”.

President Trump has said that “all options are on the table” in response to the unrest. Large protests were organised against, and some in support of, Maduro on Wednesday.

At one demonstration in Caracas, Guaidó, Venezuela’s National Assembly leader, declared himself as the country’s interim leader.

He said articles within the country’s constitution allow him to assume interim power because he believed Maduro’s election, and therefore presidency, was invalid. He has vowed to lead a transitional government and hold free elections.

Within minutes of his declaration, Trump recognised Guaidó as the country’s legitimate head of state. A number of South American nations, as well as Canada and the UK, have now followed suit.

The government of Maduro, who has maintained the military’s support, described Mr Guaidó’s actions as an attempted coup.

Maduro has labelled the US comments a “big provocation” and broken off diplomatic relations.

On Thursday, he ordered the closure of Venezuela’s embassy and consulates in the US.
The US state department meanwhile has ordered non-essential staff to leave Venezuela.

Maduro’s sovereignty has been backed by China and Russia, who both have strategic interests in his country’s economy. Others, including Mexico and Turkey, have also stood by Maduro.

A Caracas-based NGO, the Observatory of Social Conflict, says that at least 26 people have been killed in demonstrations so far this week.

The post Venezuela crisis: US vows to ‘disconnect’ Maduro’s funding appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

Maduro made the call during a special session at the Supreme Court in which he accused the US of pushing opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself Venezuela’s acting president on Wednesday, into attempting a coup d’etat.

Meanwhile, 26 people have been killed since the latest wave of protests against President Maduro broke out four days ago, the Caracas-based Observatory of Social Conflict said on Thursday.

The previous toll from the protests — which began when a group of soldiers took over a command post in the north of the capital in defiance of the socialist regime — had stood at 16.

In some places, armed forces have fired tear gas and rubber bullets to subdue protesters, some of whom threw stones.

The post Maduro announces closure of Venezuela embassy in US, as death toll hits 26 appeared first on New Mail Nigeria.

Moscow said that the move violated international law and was a “direct path to bloodshed”.

Juan Guaidó declared himself interim leader on Wednesday – a move recognised by the US and several other nations.

President Nicolás Maduro, who retains some other nations’ support, broke off relations with the US in response.

Maduro has been in office since 2013. He was sworn in for a second term earlier this month, after winning a May 2018 election marred by an opposition boycott and widespread claims of vote-rigging.

Guaidó is the head of the National Assembly, who has said articles within the country’s constitution allow him to assume interim power because he believes Maduro’s election, and therefore presidency, is invalid.

He has vowed to lead a transitional government and hold free elections.

US President Donald Trump recognised Guaidó as Venezuela’s new head of state minutes after his declaration in the capital, Caracas, on Wednesday.

Trump urged other nations to follow suit – but the move has divided much of the international community.

Seven South American nations, as well as Canada and the UK, have now backed his call.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday that the UK agreed that Maduro was “not the legitimate leader of Venezuela”. “The United Kingdom believes Juan Guaidó is the right person to take Venezuela forward,” he said in a statement.

The European Union has stopped short of recognition, but called for “free and credible elections” and said Mr Guaidó’s freedom and safety should be respected.

Mexico, Bolivia and Cuba all expressed support for Maduro, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted: “My brother Maduro! Stand tall, we are standing by you.”

China, a major investor in Venezuela, said it opposed any outside interference.

Moscow sees Venezuela as one of its closest allies in the region. It has lent billions of dollars and has backed its oil industry and its military. Russia has also taken part in military exercises in Venezuela.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We consider the attempt to usurp sovereign authority in Venezuela to contradict and violate the basis and principles of international law.

A Russian foreign ministry statement said Mr Guaidó’s declaration was a “direct path to lawlessness and bloodshed”, adding: “Only Venezuelans have the right to determine their future.

“Destructive outside interference, especially in the current extremely tense situation, is unacceptable.”

Russia also warned that any US military interference would amount to “adventurism which is fraught with catastrophic consequences”.

He was asked about military intervention and while he said he was not considering it, he added that “all options are on the table”.

In a statement, he described Mr Maduro’s leadership as “illegitimate”, adding: “The people of Venezuela have courageously spoken out against Maduro and his regime and demanded freedom and the rule of law.”

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