Interim President Juan Guaido returns to Venezuela

Finally, it was from Portugal, on a flight with the TAP company that the interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaido, recognized by more than 50 countries, landed at Simon Bolivar airport at 9:54 p.m. on Tuesday, February 11. A diplomatic delegation, with representatives of the European Union, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania, had traveled to welcome him.

The procession of Venezuelan deputies who were to greet him in the afternoon was blocked by the police on the highway that connects the airport to Caracas. They continued on their way on foot. "To all political forces, to all sectors of civilian life, to all military families: the dictatorship has never been so alone," he said after landing.

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Juan Guaido returns after almost a month of international tour which took him to Colombia, Europe, Canada and then the United States. He smuggled out of his country on January 19 to go to Bogotá, where he was received as a head of state by Colombian President Iván Duque. He participated in the Counter Terrorism Summit where he met Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State.

Meeting at the Élysée with Macron

His international tour then took him to London where he was received by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, then to Brussels for a meeting with Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs. His passage at the Davos Forum allowed him to meet Angela Merkel then he was received at the Élysée by Emmanuel Macron. His trip to Madrid was more disappointing since the President of the Government Pedro Sanchez left it to his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha Gonzales Laya, to welcome him. He was able to console himself thanks to the monster demonstration which took place at the Puerta de Sol where thousands of Venezuelans acclaimed him.

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His trip to North America seems to have been more fruitful, at least in terms of symbols. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received it before he flew to Washington where President Donald Trump invited him as an exceptional host for his Union address to Congress, making him acclaimed by all elected officials . Then he was received in the oval office of the White House. President Trump's special envoy to Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, has warned Maduro's government that he must "do the math" and allow Guaido to "return home without boredom."

I appeal to our people to reactivate the struggle and popular mobilization.

One of Juan Guaido's goals was to show that he retained the support of a large part of the international community. Objective achieved, even if the support was more discreet than expected. He thus wanted to regain an international stature to show the Venezuelans that he had the support of the main Western powers. But he did not obtain new strong gestures against the Chavista regime of Nicolas Maduro. Aware of this mixed assessment of his international tour, he said in a video message posted on Instagram that "we have the support and respect of the whole world. Now we have the most important task. I return to my homeland with the commitment of our international allies ... I appeal to our people so that we reactivate the struggle and popular mobilization. I assume my role and my responsibility with all the risks that this implies. I invite you to do the same ”.

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Juan Guaido's will to “end the dictatorship” of Nicolas Maduro can only be realized with the support of the people, the army and part of Chavismo. If he obtained the first during his first interim presidency, the street is now tired of promises of change that Juan Guaido could not impose. The army has always remained loyal to the Chavista regime in its decision-making components, despite strong calls from the interim president. It is even probable that in the military hierarchy, some have pretended to be ready to support it to better trap the members of the military hierarchy determined to let go of the Chavista regime. Venezuelan military prisons are full of "felonious" officers. The highly efficient Cuban intelligence services, omnipresent in the army, have long been experts in implementing this type of strategy.

As for Chavista officials willing to withdraw their support for Nicolas Maduro, some did so but were quickly forced into exile, or imprisoned by Venezuelan justice, whose independence from power executive is just a lure.