Venezuela鈥檚 Guaido urges more military defections to hasten Maduro ouster

Anti-government protesters stop a truck while blocking a highway with a small group of demonstrators who were returning from a peaceful demonstration called by self-declared interim president Juan Guaido to demand the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Feb. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
  • Gen. Francisco Yanez is the first high ranking officer to leave Maduro鈥檚 government since Jan. 23,
  • Maduro鈥檚 call for early legislative voting is likely to intensify Venezuela鈥檚 political standoff

CARACAS: Venezuela鈥檚 opposition leader called on more members of the military to abandon the country鈥檚 socialist government following Saturday鈥檚 defection of a top general, as President Nicolas Maduro proposed holding early National Assembly elections that could potentially oust his challenger.
Maduro鈥檚 call for early legislative voting is likely to intensify Venezuela鈥檚 political standoff since challenger Juan Guaido, the United States and other nations have called for a new presidential election and the opposition-controlled National Assembly is led by Guaido, who has declared himself interim president. Government supporters control the powerful Constituent Assembly.
Speaking from behind a podium decorated with Venezuela鈥檚 presidential seal, Guaido told cheering supporters he would keep his opposition movement in the streets until Maduro stopped 鈥渦surping鈥� the country鈥檚 presidency and agreed to organize a new presidential election overseen by international observers.
Tens of thousands of Venezuelans joined opposition protests called by the 35-year-old in Caracas and other Venezuela cities.
Guaido called on 鈥渂locks鈥� of the military to defect from Maduro鈥檚 administration and 鈥済et on the side of the Venezuelan people.鈥�
鈥淲e don鈥檛 just want you to stop shooting at protesters,鈥� Guaido said in a hoarse voice. 鈥淲e want you to be part of the reconstruction of Venezuela.鈥�
He said that in the coming days, the opposition would try to move humanitarian aid into the country by land and sea along three border points, including the Colombian city of Cucuta. He described the move as a 鈥渢est鈥� for Venezuela鈥檚 armed forces, which will have to choose if they allow the much needed aid to pass, or if they instead obey the orders of Maduro鈥檚 government.
Maduro also dug in his heels, insisting he was the only president of Venezuela and describing Saturday鈥檚 anti-government protests as part of a US-led coup attempt.
鈥淚 agree that the legislative power of the country be re-legitimized and that we hold free elections with guarantees, and the people choose a new National Assembly,鈥� Maduro said at a pro-government demonstration in the capital of Caracas.
The socialist leader also had words for the administration of President Donald Trump which recently imposed sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports in an effort to undermine Maduro鈥檚 main source of income and weaken his grip on power.
鈥淒o you think you are the emperor of the world?鈥� he asked Trump. 鈥淒o you think Venezuela is going to give up and obey your orders? We will not surrender.鈥�
The standoff comes amid what appears to be growing dissension among the ranks of Venezuela鈥檚 powerful military.
Earlier Saturday, a Venezuelan air force general defected from Maduro鈥檚 administration and called on his compatriots to participate in protests against the socialist leader鈥檚 rule.
Gen. Francisco Yanez is the first high ranking officer to leave Maduro鈥檚 government since Jan. 23, when Guaido declared himself the country鈥檚 legitimate leader by invoking two articles of the Venezuelan constitution that he argues give him the right to assume presidential powers.
In a YouTube video, Yanez described Maduro as a dictator and referred to Guaido as his president. He didn鈥檛 say if he was still in Venezuela or had left the country.
The officer confirmed in a phone call with The Associated Press, from a Colombian number, the veracity of his declaration and said he would not provide further statements until given authorization by 鈥渢he commander-in-chief of the legal armed force, which is President Juan Guaido.鈥�
The military controls some of Venezuela鈥檚 key assets including the state run oil company, and until now, its top brass has helped Maduro to survive rounds of mass protests in 2014 and 2017 by jailing activists and repressing protesters.
Yanez said in his video that 鈥�90 percent of the military鈥� is against Maduro, but it is unclear how many will actively support the opposition.
Shortly after protests broke out against Maduro last week, Venezuela鈥檚 most important regional military commanders and its defense minister issued a statement in support of Maduro, describing Guaido as a coup monger backed by Washington.
Venezuela鈥檚 aerospace command of the armed forces shared a picture of Yanez on its Twitter account with the words 鈥渢raitor鈥� above it.
鈥淲e reject the declarations made by General Yanez who betrayed his oath of loyalty to our nation and chose to follow foreign plans,鈥� the command wrote.
On Saturday, Maduro said he was willing to sit down for talks with the opposition in an effort to promote national 鈥渉armony.鈥�
But that offer has been rejected by Guaido, who describes it as a ploy by the Maduro administration to buy time.
Previous talks between the government and opposition have failed to change electoral conditions in the South American country, and many political leaders have been forced into exile.
At a pro-Maduro rally, supporters blamed the opposition for undermining the Bolivarian Revolution with years of protests and seeking financial sanctions against the Venezuelan government.
Zeleyka Muskus, a 53-year-old tax collector from Caracas, said the opposition was responsible for the country鈥檚 current economic woes, saying they have staged years of protests that have gotten people injured and killed.
鈥淐havez is the love of my life,鈥� she said, referring to late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
Other public workers attending the pro-government demonstration said they had been forced to go there by their bosses.
Meanwhile, streams of marchers from middle-class and poor neighborhoods walked to another part of the capital and said they were demanding Maduro鈥檚 resignation and a transitional government that would hold new presidential elections in the South American country.
Xiomara Espinoza, 59, said she felt a change of energy in the crowd, whose hopes for a transition in Venezuela have previously been dashed.
鈥淲e are around the corner from freedom,鈥� she said, banging on a pot and wearing a Venezuelan flag.
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Associated Press writers Scott Smith, Joshua Goodman and Jorge Rueda contributed reporting from Caracas, Venezuela.