White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has shared a link to The New York Times' article by Juan Guaido, the head of Venezuela's opposition-led National Assembly, with the message: "America stands with the people of Venezuela".
America stands with the people of Venezuela https://t.co/yT6h15rYsH
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) 31 January 2019
Social media users, however, appeared to be unimpressed by Sanders's response and claimed that her boss, President Donald Trump, "doesn't even stand with Americans":
#DonaldTrump doesn’t even stand with Americans. 🙄
— Jules Morgan (@glamelegance) 31 January 2019
But doesn’t stand with the People of United States not all of them
— Peace4All (@Jmlieber) 31 January 2019
If only you and Trump stood with the people of America.
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) 31 January 2019
Some netizens' reactions reflected Maduro's sentiments — Washington is after the world's largest oil reserves:
To steal their oil, I'm sure.
— John Sunder (@johnsunders) 31 January 2019
"America stands with the people of Venezuelas oil" there… fixed it for you.
— Flesh Rocket (@sonicbeef) 31 January 2019
America stands with it's best oil source.
— Could I Be Blunt (@CouldIBeBlunt) 31 January 2019
Guaido, who declared himself the Latin American country's interim president on 23 January, penned an op-ed, in which he said that support from the Venezuelan military was "crucial" to forcing Nicolas Maduro out of office.
"The military's withdrawal of support from Mr Maduro is crucial to enabling a change in government, and the majority of those in service agree that the country's recent travails are untenable. The transition will require support from key military contingents. We have had clandestine meetings with members of the armed forces and the security forces".
Sanders's supportive tweet came shortly after Maduro had called on "the people of the United States" to not let the Trump administration interfere into Caracas's internal affairs and turn his motherland into another Vietnam.
Pueblo de los #EEUU, pido su apoyo para rechazar la injerencia del gobierno de Donald Trump que pretende hacer de Mi Patria un Vietnam en América Latina. ¡No Se Lo Permitas! ➡️https://t.co/tMRcVpgw9Y
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) 30 January 2019
On 29 January, the Venezuelan Supreme Court blocked Guaido's bank accounts and financial transactions within the country's jurisdiction, and imposed a travel ban on him until an investigation into his activities is completed.
In a bid to ramp up pressure on Maduro, the US introduced sanctions against Venezuela's state-owned oil giant PDVSA, and passed control over certain frozen assets held by US-insured banks to Guaido.
The Trump adiminstration has been calling on Maduro to step down in favour of a "legitimate leader reflecting the will of the Venezuelan people", while the Venezuelan president has accused Washington of orchestrating a coup and severed diplomatic ties with the country.
READ MORE: Guaido Had 'Clandestine Meetings' With Venezuela's Military, Security — Reports
Guaido's self-proclaimed presidency was instantly recognised by the US, Canada, Israel, Georgia, Albania and over a dozen South American countries, while Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, and several other nations consider Maduro to be the only legitimate president of Venezuela.
