Venezuela's top military representative to the US has been slammed as a traitor in his homeland after he declared that he now recognises opposition leader Juan Guaido as the president, abandoning Nicolas Maduro's government.
Colonel Jose Luis Silva's defection is significant as Maduro, who has accused Guaido of a coup, retains the support of the country's security forces.
The latest development comes as European powers signaled they were ready to follow the United States in recognizing National Assembly President Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader.
Guaidó declared himself 'acting president' on Wednesday, gaining the backing of several countries with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo launching a fiery speech at the United Nations on Saturday, slamming Venezuela's dictatorial regime under Maduro as an 'illegitimate mafia state'.
Col Silva's intervention is a blow to Maduro, with the armed forces seen as crucial in the current struggle.
Venezuela's defence ministry said Col Silva was guilty of treason, and tweeted photos of him with the word 'traitor' plastered over them.
Guaido recently asked the army to 'put themselves on the side of the Venezuelan people'.
In a video filmed at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, Col Silva said: 'The armed forces have a fundamental role in the restoration of the democracy in our country. Please, brothers, do not attack our people.'
He also urged his 'brothers in the armed forces of the nation to recognise President Juan Guaido as the only legitimate president'.
Guaido celebrated Silva's decision to defect.
'We welcome him and everyone who with honesty want to follow the constitution and the will of the Venezuelan people,' he said on social media after attending a small assembly in Caracas to discuss the opposition's next moves.
Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for US National Security Council, encouraged others to follow Silva's lead 'to protect constitutional order, not to sustain dictators and repress its own people.'
Venezuela's top commanders have pledged loyalty to Maduro's government in the days since Guaido declared himself interim leader on grounds that Maduro's re-election last year was fraudulent - an allegation supported by the US, the European Union and many Latin American nations.
But support for Maduro's rule is weaker among the military's rank and file, whose households are suffering from widespread food shortages and hyperinflation like their civilian counterparts.
Last week, a small National Guard unit stole a stockpile of weapons in what it said was an attempt to oust Maduro. The uprising was quelled and 25 guardsmen arrested.
The standoff has plunged troubled Venezuela into a new chapter of political turmoil that rights groups say has already left more than two dozen dead as thousands take to the street demanding Maduro step down.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the U.N. Security Council during a meeting on Saturday to 'pick a side' on Venezuela and urged countries to financially disconnect from Maduro's government.
'We're here to urge all nations to support the democratic aspirations of Venezuelan people as they try to free themselves from former President Maduro's illegitimate mafia state,' Pompeo said in his address.
Venezuela also defused a potential showdown with the United States, suspending a demand that US diplomats leave the country.
Maduro had given U.S. diplomats three days to leave the country, but the Trump administration said it wouldn't obey, arguing that Maduro is no longer Venezuela's legitimate president.
That set the stage for a showdown at the hilltop U.S. Embassy compound Saturday night, when the deadline was to expire.
But as the sun set on Venezuela's capital, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Maduro's government was suspending the expulsion to provide a 30-day window for negotiating with U.S. officials about setting up a 'U.S. interests office' in Venezuela and a similar Venezuelan office in the United States.
The State Department did not confirm the Venezuelan government's account, reiterating only that its priority remains the safety of its personnel and that it has no plans to close the embassy.
Earlier on Saturday, Pompeo told the U.N. Security Council: 'Let me be 100 percent clear - President Trump and I fully expect that our diplomats will continue to receive protections provided under the Vienna Convention. Do not test the United States on our resolve to protect our people.'
This article has been adapted from its original source.
