Venezuelan air force general declares allegiance to opposition leader

Venezuelan air force general Francisco Yanez recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's acting president, disavowing ruling socialist leader Nicolas Maduro in a video published on social media Saturday.

Appearing in full uniform ahead of rival rallies in Caracas, Yanez said he was rejecting Maduro's "irritating and dictatorial authority."

While Guaido has garnered much international backing for his claim to be acting president, the backbone of Maduro's support comes from Venezuela's military high command.

The ruling Socialist party celebrates the 20th anniversary of the rise to power of Hugo Chavez, Maduro's late predecessor, on Saturday.

Twenty years after Chavez came to power, the country is in the grip of economic and political crises, and the four "Chavistas" have turned their back on his hand-picked successor.

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