Venezuela Opposition Leader Returns Home, Testing President Maduro by Ryan Dube and Maolis Castro – Wall Street Journal
CARACAS, Venezuela—Opposition leader Juan Guaidó returned to Venezuela on Monday after he defied a court-ordered travel ban last month by leaving the country, testing an authoritarian government that has threatened to arrest him.
Mr. Guaidó arrived at the Caracas airport to cheering supporters after leaving crisis-racked Venezuela and turning up on the Colombian border on Feb. 23 as part of the opposition’s failed attempt to get humanitarian aid across the border—a move blocked by Venezuelan government security forces.
“We know the risks that we face,” Mr. Guaidó told reporters before heading outside where he waved to supporters from the roof of a car. “We are stronger than ever before…We are going to end the usurpation in Venezuela very soon.”
President Nicolás Maduro’s government has threatened to arrest Mr. Guaidó, who is recognized as Venezuela’s interim president by more than 50 countries including the U.S., for disobeying the travel ban. Western diplomats, including from France, Germany and the U.S., were at the airport to await Mr. Guaido’s arrival in a show of support…