Venezuela's Juan Guaido in Colombia to meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

[Judi Lynn]

BY JOSHUA GOODMAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted January 19, 2020 4:37 pm

Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaidó has traveled to Colombia to participate alongside U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a regional counter-terrorism meeting — a new show of support by the Trump administration for the man it says is the country’s legitimate leader.

From Bogota, Guaidó plans to travel to Europe and then possibly the U.S., two people close to the opposition leader said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss his travel plans.

While Guaidó’s itinerary in Europe is unknown, he’ll be traveling there as U.S. President Donald J. Trump is scheduled to attend Jan. 21-22 the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. That could set the stage for a first meeting between Guaidó and Trump on the sidelines of the annual gathering of the world’s business and political elite.

Colombian President Iván Duque welcomed Guaidó in a tweet on Sunday and said he would hold a “working meeting” with him later.

More:
https://globalnews.ca/news/6434068/venezuela-guiado-pompeo-meeting/

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Venezuela's Guaidó pictured with members of Colombian gang
This article is more than 4 months old
Opposition leader plays down images but analysts say they could prove highly damaging

Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan politician fighting to topple Nicolás Maduro, is facing awkward questions about his relationship with organised crime after the publication of compromising photographs showing him with two Colombian paramilitaries.

In an interview on Friday, Guaidó played down the significance of the pictures, in which he posed alongside two members of the Colombian criminal gang the Rastrojos identified as El Brother and El Menor.

The photos appear to have been taken on 22 February as Guaidó used an illegal border crossing to sneak across Venezuela’s western border into Colombia to attend a Live Aid-style concert in the town of Cúcuta.

. . .

Analysts said the images had the potential to cause severe harm to Guaidó’s credibility and his nine-month quest to force Maduro from power.

The Rastrojos are a drug-trafficking group with paramilitary origins who operate on both sides of the Colombia-Venezuela border. As well as the cocaine trade, they are engaged in illegal mining, kidnapping for ransom and extortion.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/13/juan-guaido-faces-questions-over-links-to-organised-groups

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What's next, death squad members huddle with Muck Pompeo and Guaido in Colombia?