Nicolás Maduro continues usurping the presidency in Venezuela. It has been more than sixty days since Juan Guaidó assumed the interim presidency of the Caribbean country. According to the latest Datanalisis survey, Guaidó would obtain 77% of the votes in a presidential election, while 84% of Venezuelans reject Maduro's government.

At the same time, the country is immersed in the most severe socio-economic crisis that has experienced in its republican history. In less than a month, there was another "blackout" in the country.

The pressure of the United States for Maduro to leave power has not yet produced his exit. The battery of sanctions applied by the United States Department of the Treasury to Maduro's inner circle and state oil and mining companies, PDVSA and Minerven, has failed to break the loyalty of the military leadership that holds him in the presidency. Sanctions that leave the usurper regime without most of the legal funds.

However, Maduro and his henchmen are still at their tricks. They imprison and threaten the inner circle of Guaidó, as happened with his Chief of Staff, Roberto Marrero, and his political mentor Leopoldo López, respectively.

Additionally, Russia and the United States face off in Venezuela.

Vladimir Putin decided to uphold the usurping regime of Maduro, as he did with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria when it appeared that he was coming out of power. He helped to pin it up with the support of the Russian Air Force.

Donald Trump recognized Juan Guaidó, as interim president of Venezuela because the only legitimate power left in Venezuela is the National Assembly. Therefore, the Administration and the Congress of the United States support the installation of a transitional government to call for a free, fair, democratic and competitive presidential election.

Two weeks ago, the United States and Russia sat in Rome to discuss the situation in Venezuela. On the American side, Elliott Abrams said, "it was useful for us [the US] to understand that Russia considers the crisis in Venezuela to be very serious, unlike Maduro, and particularly from the economic and humanitarian point of view." On the Russian side, Sergey Ryabkov told he warned Abrams very strongly against the possibility of military intervention, or through "a low-intensity conflict".

According to Abrams "both parties come out with a better understanding of reciprocal positions" and agree that a peaceful solution is needed, and for Ryabkov "the conversation was difficult but frank".

The solution for Russia is the Montevideo Mechanism, and for the United States, it is the cessation of Maduro's usurpation.

Putin seeks in Venezuela to continue occupying a prominent place on the global stage, revaluing his military and Armed Forces power, while the USA reaffirms the Monroe Doctrine, according to John Bolton's statement.

Two weeks after the meeting in Rome, Putin tests the Monroe Doctrine in Venezuela, sending two Russian Air Force aircraft to the Caribbean country with 99 military and 35 tons of cargo, commanded by the Russian Chief of the Main Command of Land Forces, Vasily Tonkoshkurov.

It was the response to Abrams' claim in Italy that "all options are on the table". The Bolivarian National Armed Forces need to count on the availability of fighters, helicopter gunships, tanks, armored vehicles, missiles, bombs, cannons, anti-ballistic systems and anti-aircraft defenses bought from Russia in the face of possible humanitarian intervention.

On the other hand, the struggle for world hegemony between the United States and China drags Venezuela.

The decision of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to suspend the annual assembly in China, after Beijing denied the visa to the Governor appointed by interim president Juan Guaidó, is part of the cold war between the two superpowers.

China maintains its support for Maduro. Beijing tried to persuade the member countries of the IDB that "the meeting should not be politicized", as if the act of not granting the visa to the representative of Guaidó was not a political act.

To such an extent that China puts at risk its commercial relations with the Latin American countries that recognize Guaidó, as interim president of Venezuela, among which are: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, among others.

Before the imminent cessation of the usurpation of the presidency of Venezuela, the Russian geopolitical strategy and Chinese cold war with the United States seek to revive Maduro.

However, after Robert Muller's investigation -who did not find evidence of a conspiracy in which the US president participated to influence the electoral result- Trump is committed to restoring democracy in Venezuela. So Russia and China should review their support for Maduro.

Otherwise, it will be late, if Russia maintains its geopolitical vision and China its cold war in Venezuela.



English

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