The government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officially confirmed its recognition of Jaun Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela.

A few hours after Guaidó announced himself as interim president, President Alvarado, who is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, recognized Guaido as new president saying: "Costa Rica recognizes the proclamation of Mr. Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela. We advocate dialogue, peace and new free elections."



Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez is a Venezuelan engineer and politician who has served as the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela since January 5, 2019. A member of the Popular Party, he also serves as a federal deputy representing the state of Vargas.



According to the Ministry, the government supports the new interim government of Venezuela which has the mandate to restore the constitutional order, meet the country’s obligations under international law and, in particular, restore the human rights of all Venezuelans.



"Costa Rica supports the efforts of the National Assembly, legitimately elected, to move towards the realization of free, fair, transparent elections that meet international standards in the period provided by the Constitution of Venezuela," said the Ministry in its statement.



Incumbent President Nicolás Maduro was re-elected in the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election. The results of that election, however, were disputed, largely because of irregularities in the way of the election was called.

The dispute came to a head in early 2019 when the National Assembly of Venezuela stated that the results of the election were invalid and declared Juan Guaidó as the acting president, citing several clauses of the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution.