(CNN) Self-declared interim president of Venezuela Juan Guaido has refused to rule out accepting US military support amid the escalating political crisis, saying that the Venezuelan people want to end President Nicolas Maduro's dictatorship with "whatever pressure is necessary." But Guaido cautioned that he hopes it doesn't come to that. Asked by CNN's Christiane Amanpour whether he would accept US military support, he said through an interpreter: "Here in Venezuela we are doing everything we can to put pressure, so that we don't have to come to a scenario that no one would wish to have." "We are trying to restore the sovereignty of this country, to restore the liberty and democracy of Venezuela," he added. Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself acting president of Venezuela last week, invoking an obscure constitutional rule to open a rare challenge to Maduro's claim to the presidency.

Source: CNN January 31, 2019 16:25 UTC