News Desk
\nCARACAS\/WASHINGTON
\nVenezuela\u2019s rival political factions will take their power struggle to New York next week, where representatives of President Nicolas Maduro and opposition chief Juan Guaido will each try to convince a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations that their boss is the country\u2019s legitimate head of state.
\nThe United States and more than 50 other countries recognize Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, as the rightful president. Guaido in January invoked the constitution to assume a rival presidency to Maduro, arguing the socialist president\u2019s May 2018 re-election was a sham.
\nBut the 193-member UN General Assembly still recognizes Maduro, who retains the support of the UN Security Council\u2019s veto-wielding permanent members Russia and China, setting the stage for the two sides to air their public grievances as they battle for international backing.
\nA round of negotiations brokered by Norway in recent months, aimed at peacefully resolving the crisis, has failed. Guaido is seeking to get more countries, especially the European Union, to implement sanctions on Venezuela, as the United States has done.
\nMaduro, who has overseen a collapse of the OPEC nation\u2019s once-prosperous economy and has been accused by the UN\u2019s High Commissioner for Human Rights of rights violations, wants to heap pressure on the United States to lift sanctions on state oil company PDVSA and members of his inner circle.
\nCritics say his government\u2019s decisions this week to free a jailed opposition lawmaker and reform Venezuela\u2019s electoral body, long accused of bias, were aimed at improving Maduro\u2019s image before the UN gathering.
\n\u201cThey want to use the UN meeting to wash their face, because they are not reaching any real solutions for the Venezuelan people,\u201d Carlos Valero, an opposition lawmaker who sits on the National Assembly\u2019s foreign affairs committee, said in an interview on Wednesday.
\nMaduro calls Guaido a US puppet seeking to oust him in a coup, and blames Washington\u2019s sanctions for Venezuela\u2019s economic woes. Maduro himself said he will not attend the UN gathering, but he tasked two cabinet members with presenting a petition condemning the sanctions to Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
\n\u201cThe UN Secretary General and all the UN agencies should raise their voice to condemn the aggression Venezuela is being subjected to, to condemn the illegal blockade,\u201d Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told reporters in Geneva last Friday. \u201cWe believe that a lot more can be done from the United Nations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
News Desk CARACAS\/WASHINGTON Venezuela\u2019s rival political factions will take their power struggle to New York next week, where representatives of President Nicolas Maduro and opposition chief Juan Guaido will each try to convince a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations that their boss is the country\u2019s legitimate head of state. The United States […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n