Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gestures after receiving the presidential sash during the ceremonial swearing-in for his second presidential term, at the Supreme Court in Caracas, Venezuela on January 10, 2019. (REUTERS File Photo)
ISTANBUL, January 27 (Reuters): Venezuela's embattled President Nicolas Maduro rejected an international ultimatum to call elections within eight days and said opposition leader Juan Guaido had violated the country's constitution by declaring himself leader. Maduro, in an interview with CNN Turk aired on Sunday, also said he was open to dialogue and that meeting U.S. President Donald Trump was improbable but not impossible. The broadcaster dubbed the interview from Spanish into Turkish.
Washington, which has recognised Guaido as leader, had on Saturday urged the world to "pick a side" on Venezuela and financially disconnect from Maduro's government. Venezuela has sunk into turmoil under Maduro with food shortages and protests amid an economic and political crisis that has sparked mass emigration and inflation that is seen rising to 10 million percent this year.
Britain, Germany, France and Spain all said they would recognize Guaido if Maduro failed to call fresh elections within eight days, an ultimatum Russia said was "absurd" and the Venezuelan foreign minister called "childlike."
Washington, Canada most Latin American nations and many European states have labelled Maduro's second-term election win last May fraudulent. Maduro retains the loyalty of the armed forces, though Venezuela's top military envoy to the United States on Saturday defected to Guaido.
Defense attache breaks with Maduro
Meanwhile, on Saturday Guaido, gained support from a key military official. Venezuela's defense attache to Washington, Colonel Jose Luis Silva, told Reuters that he has broken with the Maduro government and recognized Guaido as interim president.
The diplomatic friction and defection was triggered by U.S. recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president. Washington, Canada and most Latin American nations said Maduro's second-term election win was fraudulent.
"Today I speak to the people of Venezuela, and especially to my brothers in the armed forces of the nation, to recognize President Juan Guaido as the only legitimate president," Colonel Jose Luis Silva said in a video recorded at the embassy in Washington, seated at a desk alongside the Venezuelan flag.
Silva told Reuters in Washington that one consular official in Houston and one in another U.S. city also recognized Guaido, but that he was the only diplomat in Washington he knew of who had taken the step. Reuters was not able to independently confirm other defectors.
"The top brass of the military and the executive branch are holding the armed forces hostage. There are many, many who are unhappy," Silva said. "My message to the armed forces is, 'Don't mistreat your people.' We were given arms to defend the sovereignty of our nation. They never, never trained us to say, 'This is for you to attack your people, to defend the current government in power."
While small rebellions against Maduro have broken out in Venezuela's armed forces in recent months, there has been no large scale military uprising against him.
Guaido welcomed Silva in a message on Twitter and encouraged others to follow his example. In a tweet, Venezuela's Defense Ministry called Silva a coward, posting a picture of him emblazoned with the word "traitor" across it in red capital letters.
