U.S. envoy for Venezuela says actions against Guaido would be foolish

Elliott Abrams, the U.S. envoy for Venezuela, cautioned socialist President Nicolas Maduro against acting against self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, saying on Wednesday that such action would be an "extremely foolish move."

"The security of interim President Guaido is a concern," Abrams told a group of reporters. "The regime has not acted against him in some time and I hope that is because they recognize that he has the support of the vast majority of Venezuelans and that would be an extremely foolish move for the regime to make."

Washington has backed Guaido in his push to force Maduro from power. Maduro, in turn, has barred Guaido from leaving Venezuela and frozen his assets. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Writing by Makini Brice Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)