VENEZUELA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president sets the stage for dramatic escalation in the coming days, as forces within and outside Venezuela wrestle to determine its future. Embattled President Nicolas Maduro responded to Trump’s announcement by cutting ties with the US and ordering American diplomats to leave within 72 hours, an order that could lead to confrontation even as the White House dismissed it as ‘meaningless.’ Thirty-five-year-old Guaido swore himself into office and declared that Maduro had been deposed — though analysts say it’s not clear the former bodyguard’s fall is anywhere near imminent or that Trump’s power play will pay off. Trump’s declaration set the stage for further drama that will reverberate in US domestic politics, even as it creates tensions in the region and beyond.”
–Nicole Gaouette, “Trump’s declaration on Venezuela sets stage for ‘confrontational moment’,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, January 23, 2019 6:20 am