{"id":4914,"date":"2020-01-05T18:43:20","date_gmt":"2020-01-05T22:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/?p=4914"},"modified":"2020-01-05T18:43:20","modified_gmt":"2020-01-05T22:43:20","slug":"venezuelas-juan-guaido-loses-control-rival-declares-himself-new-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/05\/venezuelas-juan-guaido-loses-control-rival-declares-himself-new-speaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela\u2019s Juan Guaid\u00f3 Loses Control; Rival Declares Himself New Speaker"},"content":{"rendered":"

(BBC)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaid\u00f3 was denied entry to the National Assembly to be re-elected as its head.<\/p>\n

Dissident opposition politician Luis Parra, Mr Guaid\u00f3\u2019s rival, then declared himself parliament\u2019s new Speaker by megaphone \u2013 a move denounced by the opposition as a \u201cparliamentary coup\u201d.<\/p>\n

The opposition also said Mr Parra was sworn in without votes or quorum.<\/p>\n

For the past year, Mr Guaid\u00f3 has led opposition to the country\u2019s socialist President, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n

A US official said Washington still recognised Mr Guaid\u00f3 as Venezuela\u2019s legitimate leader, and described Sunday\u2019s events as a farce.<\/p>\n

\u2018You are the past\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a heated exchange at the doors, Mr Guaid\u00f3 reportedly told a security officer: \u201cThis is unprecedented!\u201d<\/p>\n

Images later showed him and other politicians who support him trying to climb a fence to gain entry to the building.<\/p>\n

Mr Guaid\u00f3 said that only regime politicians and opposition deputies critical of him had been allowed to enter the National Assembly building, and that security forces had set up barricades in downtown Caracas.<\/p>\n

Before the dramatic declaration, AFP reported that opposition deputy Jose Brito \u2013 another opponent of Mr Guaid\u00f3 \u2013 told journalists that Mr Parra would stand for the role of Speaker.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could have been the future \u2013 now you are and will be the past,\u201d Mr Brito told reporters, addressing Mr Guaid\u00f3.<\/p>\n

State broadcasters later described Mr Parra as the new Speaker.<\/p>\n

Before the vote, Mr Guaid\u00f3 had accused the government of attempting to thwart his re-election as parliamentary speaker by bribing and intimidating politicians.<\/p>\n

Mr Parra, however, told state television that those who were present in the chamber opened the session without Mr Guaid\u00f3 because he had not arrived.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe announced this morning before entering the legislative palace that the rebellion of the deputies\u2026 would be clearly expressed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In December, Mr Guaid\u00f3 had vowed to investigate alleged wrongdoing by Assembly politicians, including Mr Parra for unduly advocating for a businessman linked to President Maduro\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

How did we get here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last January, Mr Guaid\u00f3 declared himself interim president \u2013 a move that was quickly backed by almost 60 countries, including the US and UK \u2013 after disputing President Maduro\u2019s 2018 re-election.<\/p>\n

Mr Guaid\u00f3\u2019s position at the head of the opposition-led National Assembly was the basis of his claim to be Venezuela\u2019s legitimate head of state.<\/p>\n

But after a year of failed attempts to oust President Maduro, he has been struggling to maintain unity among the opposition.<\/p>\n

President Maduro, meanwhile, has maintained his position despite intense domestic and international pressure, thanks largely to the support he has from the Venezuelan military.<\/p>\n

How has the US reacted?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the apparent election of Mr Parra, the US said it continues to recognise Mr Guaid\u00f3 as the country\u2019s legitimate leader.<\/p>\n

Through its embassy to Venezuela \u2013 which has been located in Bogot\u00e1, Colombia, since the two countries cut ties in 2019 \u2013 the US said Sunday\u2019s events were \u201ccompletely against the will of the people and the laws governing the process\u201d.<\/p>\n

Michael Kozak, acting assistant secretary for the US State Department\u2019s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, added: \u201cThe desperate actions of the former Maduro regime, illegally forcibly preventing Juan Guaid\u00f3\u2026 from entering the building, make this morning\u2019s \u2018vote\u2019, which lacks quorum and does not meet minimum constitutional standards, a farce.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(BBC)\u00a0\u2014 Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaid\u00f3 was denied entry to the National Assembly to be re-elected as its head. Dissident opposition politician Luis Parra, Mr Guaid\u00f3\u2019s rival, then declared himself parliament\u2019s new Speaker by megaphone […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4914","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-regional-news"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C448&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C448&ssl=1",1024,448,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg",1024,448,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg",1024,448,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?fit=300%2C131&ssl=1",300,131,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C448&ssl=1",1024,448,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C448&ssl=1",1024,448,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C448&ssl=1",1024,448,true],"mh-magazine-slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C438&ssl=1",1024,438,true],"mh-magazine-content":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?resize=678%2C381&ssl=1",678,381,true],"mh-magazine-large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?resize=678%2C448&ssl=1",678,448,true],"mh-magazine-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?resize=326%2C245&ssl=1",326,245,true],"mh-magazine-small":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/venezuela-crisis-1024x448-1.jpg?resize=80%2C60&ssl=1",80,60,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"adminrfm","author_link":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/author\/adminrfm\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Regional News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"(BBC)\u00a0\u2014 Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaid\u00f3 was denied entry to the National Assembly to be re-elected as its head. Dissident opposition politician Luis Parra, Mr Guaid\u00f3\u2019s rival, then declared himself parliament\u2019s new Speaker by megaphone [...]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4914"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4916,"href":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4914\/revisions\/4916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}