Venezuela's Maduro orders (1m member) militia expansion as Guaido tours blackout-ravaged state
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS APRIL 13, 2019 / 8:01 PM / UPDATED A DAY AGO
Venezuela's Maduro orders militia expansion as Guaido tours blackout-ravaged state
Deisy Buitrago, Mariela Nava
3 MIN READ
CARACAS/MARACAIBO (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday ordered an expansion of civilian militia by nearly one million members as opposition leader Juan Guaido toured western Zulia state, which has been hard hit by electricity blackouts.
Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly who in January invoked Venezuelas constitution to assume an interim presidency, has called on the military to abandon Maduro amid a hyperinflationary economic collapse made worse by several nationwide blackouts in the past month.
Guaido has been recognized as Venezuelas rightful leader by the United States and most Western countries, who agree with his argument that Maduros 2018 re-election was illegitimate.
The civilian militia, created in 2008 by the late former president and Maduro mentor Hugo Chavez, reports directly to the presidency and is intended to complement the armed forces.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics/venezuelas-maduro-orders-militia-expansion-as-guaido-tours-blackout-ravaged-state-idUSKCN1RP0S9