WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) – The United States still recognizes Venezuela’s National Assembly elected in 2015 and will continue to coordinate with its former leader Juan Guaidó “and other like-minded individuals,” the White House said on Wednesday.
Washington’s recognition of Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate interim president was called into question late last month, when the country’s opposition National Assembly stripped him of his title and dissolved his government.
At a news conference, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States still recognizes the Assembly elected in 2015 as Venezuela’s “last remaining democratic institution.”
Asked whether Washington still recognizes Guaidó as interim president, Kirby said he didn’t want to “get into assumptions” and promised the United States would “coordinate with him and other like-minded members” of the opposition legislature.
Former US President Donald Trump’s administration has recognized Guaidó as Venezuela’s rightful president after President Nicolas Maduro was re-elected in a 2018 vote that Washington and other Western governments called a farce.
Maduro maintained his power backed by the Venezuelan military, as well as Russia, China, Cuba and Iran.
The dissolution of the interim government has raised questions about the future of assets under its control. Opposition lawmakers voted last week to name a commission to govern assets.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt)
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