President Nicolas Maduro is facing growing, deadly unrest across Venezuela. Amid the country’s deepening economic and political crisis, the leftist leader is also increasingly isolated within the region.
Violent confrontations between protesters and police have gripped the oil-rich nation for the past month, leaving up to 25 people dead, France24 reported.
The United Nations and world leaders from Spain to Peru have called on Maduro to respect protesters' rights to peaceful assembly and free speech, many criticizing a government crackdown in which some 1,400 people have also been detained.
Maduro, who has denounced the protests as a “coup” attempt, could once have turned to likeminded Latin American leaders in times of crisis. But in the current upheaval threatening to unravel 15 years of Socialist rule in Venezuela, Maduro suddenly seems to be short of friends.
Regional allies remain, namely Bolivia and Ecuador, but they lack the influence of the regional powerhouses of Brazil and Argentina, and even those two Andean nations seem reticent to give Maduro unconditional backing.
In reference to the protests, and taking a cue from Maduro, Bolivian President Evo Morales declared on Twitter earlier this month that the “imperialist” US military was threatening Venezuelan “sovereignty”. He, nevertheless, added that Bolivia would defend a “peaceful resolution” to the conflict in Venezuela.
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has remained mum on the subject. His 10-year tenure as president is ending on May 24 and president-elect Lenin Moreno–who hails from the same leftwing party–has likewise avoided public remarks on the Venezuelan crisis.
