People took to the streets in the capital Caracas and various other cities, banging pots, blowing whistles and horns, and carrying banners that read: "Armed forces, regain your dignity," "Maduro usurper," "Guaido, president" and "No to the dictatorship." Six major European nations have told Maduro to call those elections by the weekend or they too will recognize Guaido. Earlier, Maduro had tried to rally the armed forces himself, meeting with 2,500 soldiers in the capital and calling for "unity" while hitting out at military "mercenaries." A group of soldiers rose up against Maduro last week and Venezuela's military attache to Washington deserted the president on Saturday, but for now, the military high command remains loyal to Maduro. The US has urged Venezuela's armed forces to "accept the peaceful, democratic and constitutional transfer of power," and has refused to rule out military intervention.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 31, 2019 15:22 UTC