Venezuela: opponent Guaido meets Trump, a mostly symbolic visit

Text by: Benjamin Delille Follow

Venezuelan opponent Juan Guaido was received at the White House on Wednesday by Donald Trump. He was one of the President's special guests for the State of the Union address on Tuesday. For those who claim to be the interim president of Venezuela, this welcome bears witness to the success of their international tour, which began three weeks ago. But for Juan Guaido, the hard part remains to be done.

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From our correspondent in Caracas,

Symmetrically, this international tour is a great success. Juan Guaido has shown that he still has the unwavering support of the fifty countries which recognized him as interim president in 2019. He met several heads of state, Emmanuel Macron, Boris Johnson, Justin Trudeau. He spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, and everywhere he was welcomed as the real president of Venezuela.

For a while, it was believed that he would not meet Donald Trump. Some saw this as a great disavowal on the part of the United States. In the end, not only did he meet him, he received a unanimous ovation from the United States Congress during the State of the Union address. These symbols largely confirm his position as the number one opponent of President Nicolas Maduro.

President @realDonaldTrump welcomed @jguaido to the White House!

The US will continue to work with our partners in the region to confront the illegitimate dictatorship in Venezuela & stand alongside the Venezuelan people to ensure a democratic, prosperous future. 🇺🇸🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/7oNA73Y2s4

A change for Venezuela?

But what will this visit change for Venezuela? This is where the problem lies. When he started this tour, Juan Guaido promised that he would bring " good news " to Venezuela, but he got nothing concrete. Aside from increasing sanctions against the Venezuelan government , a promise from the United States.

Juan Guaido's international allies have little more to add to the pressure. Especially since the sanctions have multiplied for over a year and Nicolas Maduro is still there, more than ever clinging to power. Paradoxically, Venezuelans are the great victims of these sanctions.

In his address to Davos, Juan Guaido may have promised that Venezuela is not an insoluble problem, but no solution seems to be emerging. The opponent also shot himself in the foot in this same speech by comparing his country to Syria and Yemen, two countries whose crisis is clearly insoluble in the eyes of Westerners.

Juan Guaido struggles to mobilize

The Venezuelan opponent must already return to his country, which should happen soon. Some fear that he will be arrested because he had to face a ban on leaving the country, but this is unlikely. The United States has been clear: an arrest of the opponent would have far-reaching consequences.

Venezuela y Estados Unidos están hermanados por la Democracia y la Libertad. Los venezolanos reconocemos el determinado liderazgo del Presidente @realDonaldTrump y agradecemos el invaluable apoyo de todo su Gobierno. pic.twitter.com/7vBGzKLkdT

Then, Juan Guaido should resume the same strategy he has been using for a year. He is going to ask the Venezuelans to go out into the street . And has already announced that a big demonstration will take place in Caracas soon. The problem is that all of his calls to protest in the past few weeks have gone unheeded.

Venezuelans no longer believe in it. They are too busy facing the economic crisis . And not sure that a symbolic meeting with Donald Trump is enough to re-motivate them. A paradox since in Madrid and Miami, Juan Guaido mobilized thousands of Venezuelans from the diaspora. In a way, where Juan Guaido best wears his suit as interim president of Venezuela is when he is not in Venezuela.

► Read also: In Venezuela, two presidents for a Parliament

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• Venezuela
• United States
• Juan Guaido
• Donald trump

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