MOSCOW, January 10. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and former Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya keep on their desks the biography of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido who was "discarded" by Washington.
The diplomat reiterated that "all last year Juan Guaido was being quietly flushed down the drain." "Even Spain restored relations with Venezuela at the level of ambassadors. And behold: Guaido is not even a puppet anymore but simply a nobody," she wrote on her Telegram channel on Tuesday.
As Zakharova noted, "now the Americans, through the radical opposition, are trying to pretend that the struggle continues but it doesn’t seem like anyone is in a hurry to become the new fake president." "They collectively scraped together some three ladies but even bribed media outlets and their experts don’t quite believe in them. It is clear why - they will be discarded just like the current failed project. Tikhanovskaya should get ready. And Volodymyr Oleksandrovych should keep Guaido’s biography on his desk. Right underneath a mirror," the spokeswoman concluded.
On situation in Venezuela
The crisis in Venezuela exacerbated in 2019 when the oppositional National Assembly did not recognize the results of the 2018 presidential election won by incumbent President Nicolas Maduro. As a result, the parliament announced that in the absence of a legitimate head of state, following the end of Maduro’s presidential term on January 23, 2019, his duties would be taken over by the speaker of the legislative body who at that time was Guaido. He was recognized by the US, the majority of EU countries as well as some Latin American states.
Nevertheless, Guaido never had any real authority in the republic itself and over time he lost the support of the adversaries of the ruling government. The most important asset controlled by Guaido was property confiscated by the US and some other Western countries which was transferred to be managed by oppositional structures. Above all, this is the Citgo corporation - the US division of Venezuela’s state oil and gas PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela) company.