Guaido seeks military aid in ousting Venezuelan President Maduro

Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaido this Friday called on people from all over the country to join in a grand march next May 1, Labor Day, to demand the armed forces’ aid in ending the usurpation, as he calls the Nicolas Maduro government.

“We call upon all Venezuelan people to take part in the biggest march in the history of Venezuela next May 1 to demand the definitive end of usurpation in Venezuela, to demand once and for all the termination of this tragedy,” he said during an “open town-hall meeting” at a plaza in Caracas.

“What has to happen for this to succeed? To whom is this plea directed? Because we already know it’s neither Maduro nor the regime, they have nothing to offer. First it must be the armed forces that accompany a people that wants, that needs, that demands to live,” he added.

The opposition leader, recognized as interim president of Venezuela by more than 50 countries, was not clear about the destination of the march on a day the government traditionally uses to call public servants into the streets to show their support.

The lawmaker said the destination of the march will be “the place where the demand will be made for the usurpation to cease immediately.”

What he did make clear was that the march will not be “a scene of confrontation” with the armed forces, but rather one that is “constructive,” since he insisted on the need for military support in order to remove Maduro from power.

“We’re not aiming for a clash with troops who also want change, who also need electricity and water, no. Just the opposite, we want them to join the movement...to accompany us to the future we all want,” said Guaido, who for weeks has said that “soon” he will go looking for an office in the Miraflores presidential palace.

The points of concentration for this grand march will be announced on social networks in the coming days, the opposition leader said, while also noting that the so-called “committees of aid and freedom,” which his supporters have organized, will be sworn in next April 27.

At the same time, he announced that during the coming week there will be rallies in the streets and activities of public workers that support him.

“Everyone into the streets for the definitive end of the usurpation...come accompany us to the future we all desire,” he said.

Guaido proclaimed himself acting president last Jan. 23 because he considered Maduro a “usurper” who fraudulently won the last election.