1 of 5 | Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed acting President Juan Guaido attends a rally upon his arrival in Caracas on Monday. Photo by Marcelo Perez/UPI |
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March 4 (UPI) -- Self-declared Venezuelan leader Juan Guaido on Monday returned to the country, where he faced arrest, after traveling throughout Latin America for the past week.
El Nacional reported Guaido arrived at Simon Bolivar International Airport, where diplomatic representatives from Germany, Netherlands, the United States, Chile, France and Romania waited for him. Guaido said in previous days he feared for his safety. Immediately after arrival, he headed to a demonstration to support a new transition government and new elections.
"Already in my beloved land, Venezuela. We have just gone through migration and will now go to where our people are," Guaido wrote in a tweet.
"We know the risks that we face and that does not stop us," he wrote in an earlier tweet.
Guaido feared his arrest, on grounds he left Venezuela illegally, was a possibility.
Spanish diplomat Josep Borrel said Monday that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been threatened with diplomatic sanctions and political pressure if he were to take actions against Guaido, Publico reported.
U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said over the weekend any action against Guaido would be met with "a strong and significant response."
Guaido said he, and anyone at risk for expressing political opinions against Maduro, is aware of the consequences.
Human rights groups have said Maduro's regime is holding some 288 political prisoners amid complains of torture.
Guaido said previously he wouldn't be intimidated into staying outside of Venezuela. He left to retrieve humanitarian aid that was supposed to be distributed in the country. He was unsuccessful, as Maduro, backed by the Venezuelan military, blocked it from entering. The little aid that made it into Venezuela was burned.
