Venezuela’s powerful military threw its weight behind Nicolas Maduro on Thursday as the US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido pressed a direct challenge to his authority, and the fate of the crisis-wracked country hung in the balance.
As the death toll from days of street protests jumped to 26, a defiant Maduro announced the closure of Venezuela’s embassy and consulates in the United States, a day after President Donald Trump’s administration declared his regime “illegitimate.”
The oil-rich but economically devastated country was plunged into uncertainty Wednesday when Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, proclaimed himself “acting president” — earning swift endorsement from Washington and a dozen regional powers including Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.
Maduro’s reelection last year was contested by the opposition, and criticized internationally — but the socialist leader has until now retained the loyalty of the powerful military, whose response was being keenly watched.
