BUENOS AIRES (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) Alejandro Giammattei, the new Guatemalan president, who was sworn in two days ago and announced a severing of diplomatic relations with Caracas, has "thrown himself at the feet of Donald Trump," Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said.
On Thursday evening, Giammattei announced that Guatemala would cut all diplomatic ties with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government, according to the state-run Guatemalan news agency AGN.
"The Italian citizen who leads the fraternal republic of Guatemala has immediately thrown himself at the feet of Donald Trump. His leadership will turn into a bad joke, pass and wither away," Arreaza wrote on Twitter.
In May 2018, Guatemala asked Venezuela to withdraw Ambassador Elena Salcedo for what Guatemala City called interference in domestic affairs, AGN reported. The Central American country also recognized Venezuela's self-proclaimed opposition leader, Juan Guaido, as interim president in January 2019.
Venezuela's political crisis began last January when Guaido proclaimed himself interim president in a bid to oust Maduro from power. A number of Western countries led by the US have recognized Guaido, while China, Russia, Turkey and a number of other states have stood firm behind Maduro.
