Juan Guaido gets EU nod as Venezuelan interim president

The European Parliament recognised Venezuela's self-declared interim president Juan Guaido as the de-facto head of state on Thursday, a symbolic step that lawmakers said was designed to keep the pressure on President Nicolas Maduro. EU lawmakers voted in a non-binding resolution to recognise Guaido as interim leader and called on all EU governments to follow suit.

"From Europe, we can help change the Venezuelan regime and make it known that tyrants will never enlighten any democratic possibility," Spanish centre-right EU lawmaker Esteban Gonzalez Pons said in a statement.