Venezuela’s Guaido Loses Control of Congress, Opposition Denounces Coup

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognized as the country's rightful interim ruler, arrives at the National Assembly in Caracas, where he is due to be voted in for a second term as parliament speaker, on Jan. 5, 2020. Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images

CARACAS—Venezuela’s parliament on Sunday swore in legislator Luis Parra as its new leader after government security forces blocked opposition leader Juan Guaido from entering parliament, in what Guaido’s allies called a “parliamentary coup.”

Opposition leaders had expected to re-elect Guaido, recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, to a second term as chief of the legislature to continue pushing for the ouster of unpopular President Nicolas Maduro.