By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Reported by VOA*, Venezuelan opposition
leader Juan Guaido told his supporters Saturday at
a rally in Caracas that he had instructed his
ambassador to the U.S. to contact the U.S.
military to pressure President Nicolas Maduro to
step down from his post.
Guaido spoke to demonstrating crowds in the
Alfredo Sadel Plaza in Las Mercedes, a commercial
district in Caracas.
He spoke a day after a Venezuelan court ordered
Edgar Zambrano, vice president of Guaido's
opposition-controlled National Assembly, to be
held at a military facility. Zambrano, who was
arrested earlier in the week, and nine other
opposition leaders are under investigation in
connection with a failed military insurrection.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called for
Zambrano's immediate release, saying his arrest
"is an attack on the independence of the nation's
democratically elected legislative branch."
Meanwhile, the United States has placed sanctions
on two shipping companies for transporting
Venezuelan oil to Cuba.
The U.S. Treasury Department said Friday that it
had targeted Marshall Islands-based Monsoon
Navigation Corp. and Serenity Maritime Ltd.,
headquartered in Liberia.
The agency said the companies owned ships that
were involved in oil transfers to Cuba, which the
U.S. has accused of providing military support to
Maduro.
The Treasury Department said the vessels delivered
oil to Cuba from late 2018 through March.
The U.S. and some 50 other countries support
Guaido, who declared himself interim president in
January on the claim that Maduro's 2018
re-election was illegitimate.
Maduro has called Guaido a puppet of the U.S. and
has held on to power with the support of Cuba,
Russia and China.
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How could the Venezuelans depose dictator Nicolcas
Maduro, without having the support of the army? We
would like to know your thoughts on this story.
Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com
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