Almost every country in Latin America sided with Trump against Venezuela's embattled president Maduro
- Juan Guaidó declared himself Venezuela's interim president on Wednesday night after days of protests against President Nicolás Maduro.
- US President Donald Trump announced his support for Guaidó. Maduro responded by telling all US diplomats in the country to leave within three days.
- As of Thursday morning, almost every Latin American country has recognized Guaidó.
- Eleven countries in the region say they support Guaidó, while two maintained their support for Maduro.
Almost every country in Latin America has recognized Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan opposition leader who declared himself the country's interim president.
They took the stance against incumbent president Nicolás Maduro, who refused to cede power after protesters demanded that he step down, calling his presidency unconstitutional and a fraud.
The map above shows the countries that have recognized Guaidó as president and those that still support Maduro.
Green represents the Guaidó supporters, red represents Maduro supporters, and Venezuela is in yellow.
The political fallout comes after days of protests and clashes between Venezuelans demanding Maduro's resignation, and the country's security forces. Under Maduro's rule, the country is enduring one of the world's worst economic crises, which has brought hyperinflation, power cuts, and food shortages.
Read more: 10 pictures reveal the huge amounts of cash Venezuelans need to buy everyday things
US President Donald Trump declared his support for Guaidó on Wednesday night.
As of Thursday morning, these 11 countries have voiced their support for Guaidó as Venezuela's interim leader:
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
These two countries have explicitly pledged their support for Maduro:
- Bolivia
- Cuba
Bolivia's left-wing president, Evo Morales, tweeted on Wednesday night: "Our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and our brother Nicolás Maduro in these decisive hours in which the claws of imperialism seek again to mortally wound the democracy and self-determination of the peoples of South America."
"Never again will we be in the USA's backyard," he added.
Cuba's state newspaper, Granma, accused Trump of "directing a coup d'état" by recognizing Guaidó.
Read more: Venezuela's uprising against Maduro may put Trump's musings about military intervention to the test
The Mexican government said it would not take sides, citing "our constitutional principles of non-intervention, auto-determination, and peaceful solutions to international conflicts."
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that supporting Guaidó was a violation of sovereignty, according to Reuters, appearing to implicitly criticize nations which have taken that stance.
Uruguay, Guyana, and Santa Lucia have also refused to take sides, according to Al Jazeera.
Guaidó and Maduro's contest for power has also divided countries outside of Latin America.
The US and Canada formally recognized Guaidó as interim president on Wednesday, while Russia and Turkey pledged support for Maduro.
Multiple Russian officials, including Russian Federation Council's information committee chairman Alexei Pushkov and MP Vladimir Dzhabrailov, described Guaidó's declaration as a "coup," according to Reuters and The Guardian.
Russia has long supported Maduro's regime with arms and financial loans.
Maduro called for US diplomats to immediately leave Venezuela shortly after Trump announced his support for Guaidó.
Washington rejected Maduro's demands, saying it would only listen to Guaidó's government, according to Reuters.