US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams denied the claims that Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido is a puppet of the United States while speaking in Washington DC on Friday.
“The allegation that Juan Guaido is some kind of a puppet of the United States I think is first ridiculous and second has been disproved in a number of ways,” said Abrams.
Guaido returned to Caracas on Monday evening after attending a ‘Lima Group’ summit in Colombia to discuss putting more pressure on President Nicolas Maduro, despite facing arrest for defying a travel ban imposed by the Supreme Court.
“Interim President Juan Guaido’s return to Venezuela was an important milestone for his efforts to restore democracy to his country. The warm welcome he received from Venezuelans and the international community is a sign of the broad support he enjoys,” said Abrams.
Commenting the Venezuelan economic crisis and soaring hyper-inflation, Abrams claimed the situation was not new. “This economic decline is not new. The situation in Venezuela now is the product of years of corruption and incompetence and venality on the part of this regime,” said the US official.
“This is a struggle in Venezuela whose length we can’t predict. No one can predict it. Regimes always look or often look quite solid and quite strong the day before they collapse. So none of us know how to predict the timing. But I think the direction is very, very clear. And the outcome is clear,” he added.