Juan Guaidó: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is ‘Usurping the Presidency’

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of “usurping the presidency” in a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday evening. “I would like to be clear about the situation in Venezuela: Mr. Maduro’s re-election on May 20, 2018, was illegitimate, as has since been acknowledged by a large part of the international community,” Guaidó wrote, adding that his rise to interim president of the country was stipulated in Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution. “This is why the oath I took on Jan. 23 cannot be considered a ‘self-proclamation,” he wrote. “It was not of my own accord that I assumed the function of president that day, but in adherence to the Constitution.” Guaidó wrote that Maduro had used various methods to keep power—including taking political prisoners—and said there were “no more stunts left” for him to pull to keep the presidency. Guaidó also called for the galvanization of the National Assembly, the support of international organizations, and for the Venezuelan people to recognize their right to “self-determination.”