Venezuelan opposition leader declares himself acting president amid massive marches

Hours after President Donald Trump officially recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate president, a defiant Maduro appeared before supporters to accuse the United States of backing an attempted coup.

Maduro announced that he was cutting remaining political and diplomatic ties with Washington. “We cannot accept the invasive policies of the empire, the United States, the policies of Donald Trump,” he said to cheers from the crowd. “Venezuela is a land of liberators.”