Venezuela opposition leader ousted as Brazil, US warm to arch-dictator

Venezuela’s National Assembly Thursday ousted opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s interim president, leaving a void open for Venezuelan totalitarian dictator Nicolás Maduro to assert his claim to the presidency.  

Maduro, who usurped Venezuela’s presidency in 2018, is considered an illegitimate president by over 50 countries, including the US. He is known to have led the Cartel of the Suns, a drug cartel involving Venezuelan officials and terrorist organization Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC). As Venezuela’s foreign minister, Maduro coordinated large-scale cocaine operations with Honduras and, with FARC’s assistance, commissioned the cartel’s own militia.    

In March 2020 the Trump administration officially declared Maduro wanted for narcoterrorism and offered a $15 million reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest and/or capture. Maduro’s wanted status, and the reward offer, remain in full effect.     

Guaidó, a young upstart who for years has been the face of the resistance against Maduro, assumed his role as interim president in 2019. His presidency was recognized by dozens of nations, including the United States. In June 2022, Joe Biden reaffirmed his support for Guaidó as the country’s interim president. 

But not all countries favor Guaidó as Venezuela’s president. Brazil’s new Leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who served prison time for corruption during his last presidency, is close political allies with Maduro. Lula rescinded a policy from his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro which banned Maduro from entering the country and welcomed the dictator to his inauguration last week. 

Lula, whose own legitimacy as president is challenged by many Brazilians, has been criticized for refusing to condemn human rights abuses in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela, according to Reuters. Adding to the controversy surrounding the incoming president is his own history of corruption for which he spent 580 days in federal prison.  

But despite heavy challenges to Lula’s legitimacy, Joe Biden was among the first to congratulate him on his victory following “free, fair and credible elections”. Biden also sent a “presidential delegation” to Lula’s inauguration ceremony last week and has invited Lula to visit the White House. 

Lula, in turn, has praised the Biden administration for easing sanctions on Venezuela and thawing relations with Maduro last year in the hopes of buying oil. The talks were initiated after Biden obstructed American oil production and killed the Keystone XL pipeline. In March, the Biden administration sent a delegation to Caracas to persuade the OPEC-member country to supply the U.S. with oil in exchange for lifted sanctions, placed by President Trump in 2017 due to Maduro's human rights abuses. 

Within a week of Lula’s inauguration as Brazil’s president and his re-alliance with Maduro, Venezuela’s National Assembly voted to oust Guaidó, who supported Lula’s opponent, Jair Bolsonaro, though the Assembly has chosen no successor. 

Even Guaidó asked that the Assembly install another interim president in his stead to fortify the opposition government against Maduro, but the interim government was simply dissolved. Guaidó called it “a leap into the void.” 

“Who is going to take over the power vacuum?” he asked, according to the New York Times. “Who is going to assume the responsibilities?” 

On Friday, the day after Guaidó’s departure, the Biden administration withdrew its recognition of Guaidó’s interim presidency. 

Maduro, Lula’s ally and Biden’s courtesan, now remains the only contender claiming presidential office.