CARACAS ¨C Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Tuesday reclaimed the National Assembly that he heads, pushing past armed guards two days after President Nicolas Maduro¡¯s loyalists blocked him from attending his own re-election.
Guaido and his allies burst through the legislative palace¡¯s doors minutes after a pro-government group led by lawmaker Luis Parra, who had claimed the presidency of the body, scurried to a next-door building for refuge.
Guaido climbed to the dais and took the microphone as opposition lawmakers sang the national anthem, which includes the words ¡°Death to oppression.¡± Lawmakers then voted to recognize Guaido¡¯s re-election as head of the National Assembly for 2020. They rejected Parra¡¯s attempt to claim the role thanks to a Sunday vote taken amid chaos in the chamber as Guaido¡¯s supporters were barred, preventing a quorum.
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