Washington (EFE).- The Venezuelan opponent Juan Guaidó said that for now he rules out requesting asylum in the United States and affirmed that he is only “visiting” in the country, where he arrived last week assuring that he was expelled from Colombia.
After visiting the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, Guaidó was asked by the press if he is going to request asylum in the country, to which he replied: “Not for now.”
The opponent, who was recognized by the United States between 2019 and 2022 as interim president of Venezuela, said that he is “visiting” and that his intention, as well as that of “millions of Venezuelan refugees”, is to return to his country.
However, he assured that for this he first needs “protection and security”, since his life “is at risk” in Venezuela due to the alleged persecution of the Government of Nicolás Maduro.
“The short-term challenge is to seek support not only to protect a person, but also democracy,” he said about his visit to Washington, where he will meet with some authorities.
Guaidó arrived in Miami last week with the help of the US State Department after denouncing that he was “expelled” from Colombia.
The politician, who aspires to be the candidate of the Venezuelan opposition in the next presidential elections, had arrived in Colombia by crossing the land border with Venezuela to participate in an international conference on the Venezuelan crisis to which he had not been invited.
Guaidó reported this Tuesday that he received from the Colombian government of Gustavo Petro “a direct threat, almost blackmail” that he was going to be deported to Caracas.
“I did not expect kindness, simply dignified treatment as any human being deserves, but unfortunately we found hostility and threats,” he reproached.