Juan Guaidó can save my country from ruin, but if the US intervenes, we could see it turn into another Afghanistan

Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and his Russian ally Vladimir Putin are predictably claiming that the swearing-in of Juan Guaidó as acting president is a coup organised by Donald Trump. Those of us who want a democratic – and as peaceful as possible – end to Maduro’s dictatorship must ignore the anti-American rhetoric and throw our full support behind the president of the country’s national assembly.

Guaidó must not be allowed to fail. No one within the opposition is better suited to steer Venezuela back towards democracy. Following years of seeing former president Hugo Chávez abuse the rules of democracy, an increasing number of Venezuelans has lost faith in politics and the power of the vote. They are understandably angry, and they seem to believe that the only way out is to take the fight to the streets. Guaidó, who cut his teeth in the 2007 protests against Chávez, has enough credibility to convince this group that a democratic transition is still possible.