Spain recognizes Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president

Spain has joined other European Union countries in recognizing Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president amid warnings of an armed conflict by the country’s embattled leader Nicolás Maduro.

"The Spanish government announces that it recognizes Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president," said president Pedro Sánchez, while urging him to call a snap election "as soon as possible." 

Reconozco como presidente encargado de Venezuela a @jguaido, con un horizonte claro: la convocatoria de elecciones presidenciales libres, democráticas, con garantías y sin exclusiones.
No daré ni un paso atrás.
Por la libertad, la democracia y la concordia en #Venezuela

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) February 4, 2019

Spain and other EU countries gave Maduro an eight-day ultimatum to call fresh polls, which he refused.

"You can’t base international politics on ultimatums," he said in an interview with the Catalan journalist Jordi Évole. "That’s the stuff of the empire, of colonial times."

Catalan government reaction

The Catalan foreign minister, Alfred Bosch, avoided to take sides on Spain's recognition. He said he did not want to "consider or assess" such move. 

Bosch asked for "democracy, human rights and peace" in Venezuela.  

Soon after Guaidó proclaimed himself as president two weeks ago in Caracas, the United States was one of the first countries to recognize him as Venezuela's legitimate leader. A number of American countries, including, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Canada soon followed suit.

The events in Venezuela come amid large protests against president Nicolás Maduro, who was sworn in for a second term in January, following an election that the opposition boycotted and that many critics claimed was rigged.