WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2019) US Vice President Mike Pence has conducted a phone call with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to express the United States' support, the White House said in a statement.
"Vice President Pence spoke by phone today with Juan Guaido, the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, to recognize his courageous leadership following his arrest and intimidation this weekend, and to express the United States' resolute support for the National Assembly of Venezuela as the only legitimate democratic body in the country," the statement said on Tuesday.
Guaido was briefly detained Sunday on his way to an opposition rally near Caracas.
Guaido said last week he was ready to take over as Venezuela's interim president, saying the constitution allowed him to call a new election after the opposition denounced President Nicolas Maduro's re-election in May as illegitimate.
According to the Nacional media outlet, Venezuelan National Assembly on Tuesday adopted a statement declaring Maduro an usurper.
CNN reported earlier in the day citing three sources familiar with the matter that US President Donald Trump is considering naming Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela.
