Venezuela braced for more protests as Maduro rules out snap election
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro today said he is ready to negotiate with the country’s opposition but dismissed calls for a snap election.
The socialist leader said calls for early elections amounted to blackmail and insisted a vote will not take place until 2025, RIA Novosti reported.
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“I won legitimately. If the imperialists want a new election, let them wait until 2025,” Maduro said.
The comments came after opposition leader Juan Guiado, who has been recognised as president by a host of countries including the US and Canada, accused Maduro of committing fraud to secure his second term last year.
Maduro has refused to give in to the growing international pressure, but said he was prepared to hold talks with the opposition.
The move is expected to lead to further protests. Guaido called on his supporters to take to the streets last night after the Venezuelan high court imposed a travel ban on the opposition leader and threatened to freeze his bank account.
In an interview with the Moscow news agency today, Maduro reiterated his accusation that US President Donald Trump had ordered his assassination.
“Donald Trump has without doubt given an order to kill me and has told the government of Colombia and the Colombian mafia to kill me,” he said.
Russia, which has invested billions of dollars in the South American country, has also rejected Guaido’s calls for an election and has urged the two sides to negotiate.
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But the US has ramped up threats of military intervention, with the White House promising a “significant response” to any violence against Guiado.
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has said the UK will recognise the opposition leader as president unless elections are called.