The Heat: Venezuela political crisis

The Heat

Anand Naidoo

Anand Naidoo

Published May 16, 2019 at 6:05 PM

Venezuela faces mounting international pressure with its economy in a downward spiral that its government has been unable to reverse.

In January, opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself the country’s rightful president, accusing President Nicolas Maduro of rigging elections. Then in April, Guaido called on the entire country and the military to overthrow Maduro and failed.

More than fifty countries recognize Guaido as the country’s legitimate president, as Venezuela faces economic despair.  An estimated 3 million Venezuelans have left the country because of shortages of food, water, electricity and medicine.

Tonight’s first guest worked for the late President Hugo Chavez, and the current elected President, Nicolas Maduro.

Temir Porras served as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Chavez government and later became Chief of Staff for Maduro. He’s currently a visiting professor at Sciences Po Paris

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov squared off this week over Venezuela’s political crisis. The United States is calling for Maduro to step down, while Russia supports the Maduro government and has sent military personnel to the South American country.

To discuss all this:

  • Lucas Koerner is a Caracas-based political analyst and editor for the independent news website,  venezuelanalysis.com.
  • Jose Aristimuño is the CEO of the consulting firm NOW Strategies and consultant to some key officials with ties to Guaido.

For more: