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.