Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has rejected an ultimatum from several EU states just before the deadline expired. Maduro told Spanish channel La Sexta yesterday that he would not show cowardice in the face of pressure. Several EU states had given Maduro time to make new presidential elections until midnight; otherwise they want to recognize his rival Juan Guaido as interim president.
Maduro had announced at the weekend before his supporters an early parliamentary election later this year. The demand of the EU states Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, Netherlands, Austria and Portugal, but he met with it as little as that of the Venezuelan opposition. They insist that a new head of state be elected as soon as possible.
