CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, four people familiar with the matter said, the highest-level U.S. contact with Guaido since President Joe Biden took office on Jan. 20.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Washington recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader in January 2019 after Guaido, the leader of the opposition-held National Assembly, invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing President Nicolas Maduro’s 2018 re-election was fraudulent.
Maduro, who has held onto power backed by the South American country’s military and allies including Russia, China and Cuba, argues Guaido is a U.S. puppet seeking to oust him in a coup.
Guaido and Blinken discussed the provision of humanitarian aid to Venezuela, which is suffering a years-long economic crisis, as well as the country’s supply of coronavirus vaccines, according to one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth and Mayela Armas in Caracas; Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Leslie Adler and Peter Cooney)
