UPDATE 1-Venezuelan opposition envoy says more support needed from Europe

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's envoy to the United States, Carlos Vecchio, said on Tuesday that the opposition needed more support from Europe to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro. The opposition and the United States consider Maduro's 2018 re-election fraudulent and he has overseen an economic and political crisis in Venezuela, a member of OPEC.

On Monday, a group of Latin American countries agreed to implement sanctions on members of Maduro's government during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. "We have received a lot of support. We need more countries supporting Juan Guaido," Vecchio said in a panel on the sidelines of the United Nations gathering of world leaders.

More than 50 countries have recognized Guaido as the rightful leader of Venezuela since the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency in January. But Maduro retains the recognition of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly. "I can't believe countries don't recognize today Juan Guaido," opposition activist Lilian Tintori said on the panel.

Maduro calls Guaido a U.S-backed puppet seeking to oust him in a coup.