Guaido Rallies Venezuelan Expats in Miami at End of Tour
cheering expatriates in
Miami on Saturday that he will soon make his return to Caracas from an
international tour, bringing with him the "world's backing" to oust
President Nicolas Maduro.
"We have a plan. We have a strategy," Guaido said. "We're not alone, and we're going to restore democracy."
The
opposition leader bent on unseating the socialist president, however,
presented few details for executing this plan upon returning, saying
additional sanctions are "the only strategy" available.
Guaido's visit
to Miami rounds out a two-week world tour that took him first to
Colombia, then across Europe and Canada, where he held meetings with a
list of world leaders. He delivered a message that Venezuelans are
pressing for freedom from a "dictator," but they need help.
A
key meeting absent from Guaido's trip was with his most important ally,
President Donald Trump, who earlier in the day tweeted a picture of
himself golfing at his Florida Mar-a-Lago club, saying he was "Getting a
little exercise."
Meeting with president?
When
asked about a possible meeting with Trump, Guaido said, "Stay tuned,"
but he also said he was already preparing his return to Venezuela.
An
estimated 3,500 people crowded into a Miami convention center to hear
Guaido, the most promising opposition political figure to surface in
years with the chance of ending two decades of rule launched by the late
President Hugo Chavez. Guaido urged the crowd to remain unified and to
resist, despite living away from Venezuela.
"All
options are on the table, but also under the table," Guaido said.
"There are things that are not talked about. All necessary actions will
be used to finally liberate Venezuela."
Venezuela
was once an energy powerhouse with the world's largest oil reserves,
but crude production has plummeted over the last two decades, which
critics blame on corruption and mismanagement.
Today,
an estimated 4.5 million Venezuelans have emigrated from the country of
30 million, leaving behind crumbling infrastructure, broken hospitals,
power failures and gasoline shortages with mile-long lines at filling
stations across much of the South American nation.
Guaido,
36, rose a year ago to prominence, named leader of the opposition-led
National Assembly. In this position he claimed presidential powers,
vowing to oust Maduro and reverse the political and social crisis.
He
won backing from the U.S. and nearly 60 nations that considered
Maduro's 2018 election a fraud and blamed his socialist policies for the
crisis that's driving mass migration and threatening the region's
stability.
Maduro holds on
Maduro,
however, has maintained power with firm backing of the military and key
foreign allies, including China, Cuba and Turkey. Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to visit Caracas in the coming days.
Before
the rally, Guaido met with James Story, charge d' affaires for the
Venezuela Affairs Unit of the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. The
opposition leader also mingled with Venezuelans who have fled their
homeland for the United States over the last two decades.
Many
at the rally wore baseball hats with bright yellow, blue and red,
representing the colors of Venezuela's flag. When Guaido stepped on
stage, they cheered and held up their phones for photos.
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