European nations renounce Venezuelan leader, boosting opposition

CARACAS, Venezuela — More than a dozen European Union countries endorsed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president on Monday, raising the pressure on embattled President Nicolas Maduro to resign and clear the way for a new presidential election.

Maduro, for his part, stood defiant, rejecting a U.S offer of humanitarian aid that has shifted attention to Venezuela’s western border with Colombia, where opponents were gearing up to try to bring emergency food and medicine into the country.

“We are not beggars,” Maduro said in a speech to troops broadcast on Venezuelan state TV.