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January 21, 2021

Biden Admin to Continue Imperialist Policies Toward Venezuela, Recognizing Guaidó as President
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Tony Blinken, Biden's nominee for secretary of state, said Tuesday the
new administration will continue to recognize Juan Guaidó as the
president of Venezuela rather than the democratically elected president,
Nicolás Maduro. Blinken also said the U.S. would continue to impose
harsh sanctions, which have crippled the Venezuelan economy.

In January 2020, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó stormed
parliament with a group of lawmakers in an effort to forcefully swear
himself in as the country's leader. Guaidó and his supporters were
eventually pushed back by police with tear gas outside of government
buildings. Guaidó has failed to consolidate power since 2019's
unsuccessful coup attempt.

Ongoing U.S. sanctions have crippled the Venezuelan economy; research
from the Center for Economic and Policy Research estimates as many as
40,000 Venezuelans have died due to sanctions.


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