Venezuela’s Maduro Urges Dialogue, Guaido Demands Regime Change

Independence Day continues to reflect deep divide in Venezuela

Friday is Independence Day in Venezuela, and some six months after talk of the ouster of the country’s president, the nation remains as deeply divided as ever, with no sign of any resolution.

President Nicolas Maduro, who survived a failed April coup, is offering new dialogue with the opposition, saying “there is room for all of us within Venezuela.” He said everyone needs to be willing to give up something to reach an agreement.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido, the US-backed would-be leader, appeared to be spurning the offer, urging his supporters to march of the military counterintelligence building, and demanding the end of the “dictatorship.”

Maduro was elected in 2018, but Guaido’s supporters do not accept the results. Guaido is the head of parliament, and claimed constitutional authority to declare himself president, though this claim has not been supported by the country’s courts, nor its powerful military, meaning so far Guaido’s claims to be in charge are purely theoretical.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.