Outside forces must not meddle in Venezuela's internal affairs

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is facing challenges from internal protests, as well as external pressure with some countries including the United States, Canada, Brazil and Australia recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president and calling for re-election in the country.

Since Maduro announced to sever diplomatic ties with the US, the conflict between the two countries has been fermenting. Considering that the US secretly supported a coup in 2002 which ousted former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez from the office for about 47 hours, Maduro may intend to cut off external support to the opposition through a "revision" of relations with Washington.

Since Maduro took office in 2013, internal pressure on the government has increased thanks to the economic crisis in Venezuela owing to the sharp drop in oil prices. In 2015, the opposition Democratic Unity coalition tried several approaches to force Maduro out of office after winning control of the National Assembly, Venezuela's legislative body. But it didn't succeed in its attempts ostensibly because Maduro enjoyed popular support.

Venezuela's political crisis intensified after the National Assembly was replaced with the Constituent Assembly in August 2017, which was criticized as a move undermining democracy and prompted some Western countries to impose sanctions on Venezuela leading to more economic hardships for the country.

Washington-Caracas conflicts intensified after Donald Trump assumed office as US president in January 2017 and imposed stricter sanctions on Venezuela. The US banned several Venezuelan officials from conducting trade with US individuals and organizations, and froze their assets in the US.

The US also banned dividend payment, debts and assets transactions with the Venezuelan government and the state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. And US citizens and permanent residents were prohibited from buying any bonds related to Venezuelan state-owned enterprises.

Trump also said that he could take military action against Venezuela.

Also, South American trade bloc Mercosur suspended Venezuela in 2016. The 14-member "Lima Group" of American countries has criticized the Maduro government. The European Union has suspended weapons sale to Venezuela. And some Western countries' support for Guaido and call for re-election seem to be increasing the pressure on Maduro.

Therefore, to prevent being marginalized and win more international support, the Maduro government should make greater efforts to explain the situation in Venezuela. For example, Venezuela can reinforce relations with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America that supported Venezuela in 2017.

Besides, cooperation with Russia may help Venezuela win strong political and economic support. Russia firmly opposed US interference in Venezuela's internal affairs during Maduro's visit to Russia in October 2017, and the wheat imports from Russia have helped reduce Venezuela's dependence on the US and Canada for the food grain.

As for China, it has cooperated with Venezuela in different fields, including port construction, and oil and gas. More important, China sticks to the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs and so it is opposed to any foreign intervention in Venezuela.

The author is a researcher at the Institute of Latin American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.