By Daniel Tenreiro, April 9, 2020.
Just over a year ago, the U.S. enacted a policy of putting “maximum pressure” on the Venezuelan dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. After sham elections, Maduro held his second inauguration in January of 2019 amid widespread public protests. Shortly thereafter, opposition National Assembly president Juan Guaidó assumed the interim presidency, in keeping with the Venezuelan constitution’s provisions on replacing an illegitimate president. As Venezuelans took to the streets in protest against the Maduro regime, the international community coalesced around Guaidó, with 60 governments recognizing him as the Venezuelan head of state.
