Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday said he’s cutting off relations with the U.S. and giving American diplomats 72 hours to exit the country.
The socialist leader ordered a review of Venezuela’s relationship with the U.S. hours after the Trump administration officially recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nation’s interim president.
A day earlier, Vice President Mike Pence sent a recorded video to Venezuelans referring to Maduro as “a dictator with no legitimate claim to power.”
“He has never won the presidency in a free and fair election, and has maintained his grip on power by imprisoning anyone who dares to oppose him,” Pence said in the video.
Hours after the video was sent on Tuesday, Maduro spoke on state television, saying that Pence had brought about a 200-year low in relations between the two countries by authorizing a coup.
On Wednesday Trump recognized 35-year-old Guaido, head of the opposition-controlled congress, as the country’s interim president. – READ MORE