Handan Kazancı
24 January 2019•Update: 24 January 2019
By Tugcenur Yilmaz
ANKARA
The Venezuelan Embassy in Turkey on Thursday urged solitary from the people of Turkey amid opposition leader Juan declaring himself interim president.
“We expect solidarity from the Turkish people,” the embassy said in a statement.
The move came after the U.S. recognition of as leader and Caracas cut ties with Washington as well as protests in the Venezuelan capital.
“We strongly condemn the fascist attacks attempting to undermine the legitimacy of the President Nicolas Maduro’s government,” the statement said.
The embassy condemned the attacks attempting to take away “the right of the people to exercise their free will within the rules of international law and coexistence,” according to the statement.
It described swearing-in as interim president as “unconstitutional”. According to the embassy, the action of , who is the head of the national assembly, is “vile” and “illicit”.
On Tuesday, Venezuela slammed U.S. Vice President Mike Pence for supporting the country's opposition.
During a press conference in the capital of Caracas, Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez said Pence was “openly calling for a coup”, stating Pence was trying to interfere in the affairs of Venezuela.
Her remarks were in response to a video Pence posted on Twitter in which he criticized Maduro, calling him a "dictator" with no legitimate claim to power.
Pence delivered the address in English, with a few Spanish phrases mixed in, and called on Venezuelans to come together before a demonstration planned for Wednesday, marking the fall of Venezuela's military government in 1958.
“As you make your voices heard tomorrow, on behalf of the American people, we say to all the good people of Venezuela: con ," Pence said in Spanish, followed by English: "We are with you, we stand with you, and we will stay with you until democracy is restored and you reclaim your birthright of ."
Rodriguez called Pence out to “take care of” the U.S.’s own affairs, pointing to America’s government shutdown.
Maduro first took office in 2013 following the death of his predecessor Hugo Chavez.
The Venezuelan president is set to govern for another six-year term until 2025 after being inaugurated earlier this month.
The U.S. has criticized Maduro throughout his time in office, and shown support for the National Assembly as the "last vestige of democracy."
