Rival presidents face off as Venezuela's economy crashes

Despite severe US sanctions, President Maduro is standing firm. But how long can the political impasse last while oil production continues to decline?

Venezuela is rapidly heading towards uncharted territory, barely a month after the newly-appointed national assembly (NA) leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president and called for fresh elections. The South American oil giant must now cope with an escalating political crisis, while also enduring the economic upheaval caused by a new raft of US sanctions on state-owned energy firm Pdvsa. Venezuela is effectively banned from exporting crude oil to US refiners. In a statement issued by the Treasury department, the US government said the sanctions would remain in place to prevent corruption until the country returned to democratic order. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US w