US still does not consider Maduro ‘legitimate leader of Venezuela'

WASHINGTON

The US said Tuesday that it still does not consider Nicolas Maduro “the legitimate leader of Venezuela,” despite the Venezuelan opposition’s recent move to dissolve its “interim government.”

“We recognize the 2015 National Assembly. We will continue to enforce our sanctions program against the Maduro regime,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a news conference.

“We will calibrate that sanctions program, as we said before, based upon what we see from the Maduro regime in terms of advancing the prospect for the Venezuelan people achieving their democratic aspirations,” Price told reporters.

The Venezuelan opposition on Friday voted to dissolve an "interim government" led by Juan Guaido, who had been recognized by many countries, including the US.

Asked about the recent development, Price said: “We'll continue to coordinate with him (Guaido) as a member of the 2015 National Assembly and with other like-minded democratic actors in Venezuela to support the Venezuelan people in their aspirations for democracy, rule of law and prosperity.”

On Sunday, President Maduro said he was willing to work toward normalizing relations with the US, despite the continued sanctions crippling his country.

Maduro cut off relations with Washington in 2019, when the administration of then-President Donald Trump recognized Guaido as Venezuela's "interim president."