On Tuesday morning, Juan Guaidó, who has openly challenged Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s grip on power since declaring himself to be the country’s legitimate president in January, propelled the country’s long-simmering political crisis into new and uncertain territory.
Speaking in front of uniformed men at La Carlota Air Base in Caracas, and flanked by the opposition politician Leopoldo López, who had just been freed by the military after a prolonged detention, Guaidó told Venezuelans in a Twitter video: “These have been years of sacrifice, years of persecution, and even years of fear. Today, we defeat that fear.” Positioning himself as the “legitimate commander in chief of the armed forces,” he called on “all the soldiers, the entire military family, to accompany us in this endeavor.”
