CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans headed into uncharted political waters Thursday, with the young leader of a newly united and combative opposition claiming to hold the presidency and socialist President Nicolas Maduro digging in for a fight with the Trump administration.

Violence flared again Wednesday during big anti-government demonstrations across Venezuela, and at least seven protesters were reported killed in the escalating confrontation with Maduro, who has been increasingly accused of undemocratic behavior by the United States and many other nations in the region.

Juan Guaido, the new leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, turned up the heat by declaring himself interim president before a mass of demonstrators in Caracas. He said it is the only way to end the Maduro “dictatorship” in Venezuela, which has seen millions flee in recent years to escape sky-high inflation and food shortages.

“We know that this will have consequences,” Guaido shouted to the cheering crowd, then slipped away to an unknown location amid speculation that he would soon be arrested.

In a united and seemingly coordinated front, the U.S., Canada and some Latin American and European countries announced that they supported Guaido’s claim to the presidency.

But Russia, China, Iran, Syria and Turkey have voiced their backing for Maduro’s government.

President Donald Trump promised to use the “full weight” of U.S. economic and diplomatic power to push for the restoration of Venezuela’s democracy. “The people of Venezuela have courageously spoken out against Maduro and his regime and demanded freedom and the rule of law,” he said in a statement.

Maduro fired back by breaking diplomatic relations with the U.S., the biggest trading partner for the oil-exporting country, and ordering American diplomats to get out of the country within 72 hours. Washington said it would ignore the order.

The socialist leader, who so far has been backed by the military, as well as the government-packed courts and a constituent assembly, recalled the long history of heavy-handed U.S. interventions in Latin America during the Cold War as he asked his allies for support.

“Don’t trust the gringos,” he thundered to a crowd of red-shirted supporters gathered at the presidential palace. “They don’t have friends or loyalties. They only have interests, guts and the ambition to take Venezuela’s oil, gas and gold.”

China’s Foreign Ministry called on the United States to stay out of the crisis, while Russia’s deputy foreign minister warned the U.S. against any military intervention in Venezuela.

Some Russian officials reacted with anger to the opposition protests. Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the information committee at the Russian Federation Council, called Guaido’s declaration “an attempted coup” backed by the U.S.

Russia has been propping up Maduro with arms deliveries and loans. Maduro visited Moscow in December, seeking Russia’s political and financial support. Over the last decade, China has given Venezuela $65 billion in loans, cash and investment. Venezuela owes more than $20 billion.

Juan Guaido, head of Venezuela’s opposition-run congress, declares himself interim president of Venezuela. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

On Thursday, attention will shift to Washington, where diplomats at the Organization of American States will hold an emergency meeting on the Venezuelan situation. The debate promises to be charged, and the National Assembly’s newly picked diplomatic envoy will be lobbying to take Venezuela’s seat from Maduro’s ambassador.

Meanwhile, many Venezuelans will be looking for Guaido to re-emerge and provide guidance on the opposition’s next steps. The armed forces’ top command, which has so far remained silent, is also expected to issue a statement, although nobody expects the general’s loyalties to Maduro to have shifted.

The price of oil slipped for the third time in four days Wednesday, an indication that international energy markets are not overly concerned yet that the situation in Venezuela — America’s third top oil supplier and owner of Houston-based Citgo — will disrupt global crude supplies.

Tensions began ramping up earlier this month as Maduro took the oath of office for a second six-year term won in an election last May that many in the region contend was not free or fair because his strongest opponents were barred from running.

The 35-year-old Guaido, a virtually unknown lawmaker at the start of the year, has reignited the hopes of Venezuela’s often beleaguered opposition by taking a rebellious tack amid Venezuela’s crushing economic crisis.

He escalated his campaign Wednesday by declaring that the constitution gives him, as president of the congress, the authority to take over as interim president and form a transitional government until he calls new elections.

Raising his right hand in unison with tens of thousands of supporters, he took a symbolic oath to assume executive powers: “Today, January 23, 2019, I swear to formally assume the powers of the national executive as president in charge of Venezuela.”

The assault on Maduro’s rule came after large crowds gathered in Caracas waving flags and chanting “Get out, Maduro!” in what was the biggest demonstration since a wave of unrest that left more than 120 dead in 2017.

There were no signs that security forces heeded Guaido’s call to join the anti-Maduro movement and go easy on demonstrators. Hours after most demonstrators went home, violence broke out in Altamira, an upscale zone of Caracas and an opposition stronghold, when National Guardsmen descended on hundreds of youths, some of them with their faces covered, lingering around a plaza. Popping tear gas canisters sent hundreds running and hordes of protesters riding two and three on motorcycles fleeing in panic.

Anti-government protesters hold their hands up during the symbolic swearing-in of Juan Guaido, head of the opposition-run congress, who declared himself interim president of Venezuela. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was very pleased when he heard about the compromise the President was offering Democrats. Upon reading the details, he believes there’s no way enough Democrats in the Senate will vote for it to avoid a filibuster.

“They will get many more votes if they clean the bill up. If they keep the bill the way it is now, I don’t see any way they can pass it,” said Gingrich.

A Trump ally, Gingrich has supported the President’s efforts to fund part of a wall on our southern border but feels there are too many small points in the proposal that strike at Democrats’ nerves to get them to vote for it, such as making it harder for minors from Central America to seek asylum.

.@newtgingrich told me the White House proposal was a "big mistake" because it took too hardline of an approach, like limitations on asylum seekers. “If you’re trying to attract people with sugar, you shouldn’t pour vinegar on top of it.” https://t.co/95TRj8QK22

— Eliza Collins (@elizacollins1) January 23, 2019

My Take

There is no path to passing a bill that includes border wall funding unless the President gives up too much. It’s time for him to have his Secretary of Defense use 10 U.S.C. 284 to begin construction of the border wall now.

A good journalist would take the details of the plan I’m about to lay out and expand on every excruciating detail in order to give it some meat. I’m going to keep this really, really straight forward. In fact, I’m going to do it in Twitter format – 280-characters or less per paragraph.

Dear Mr. President: There is a path you can take to improve border security, end the shutdown, deliver the State of the Union, build the wall, and make Democrats look like intellectual lightweights…

1. Accept the deal the Democrats are offering to fund $5.7 billion towards improved border security. Make a plan for improved technology, more border patrol agents, and more immigration judges. Let’s catch them more easily and either let them in or send them home faster.

2. Open up the government. Get these people their paychecks, get tax returns and food stamps out on time, and get the TSA and other government agencies working properly again. Hold a big press conference with Nancy Pelosi inviting you to the State of the Union.

3. Keep quiet until the State of the Union. Tweet about this man’s book or that woman’s awesome award. Tweet about the State of the Union, Venezuela, term limits (conservatives would LOVE that!). Tweet about ANYTHING other than the wall.

4. At the #SOTU, lead with jobs/economy, but quickly shift to the border crisis. Reveal that with some of the money allocated for border security, you’re assigning a task force of law enforcement’s drug smuggling and transnational organized crime experts to find border issues.

5. Announce you are having them request support from the Secretary of Defense, at which point he can invoke 10 U.S.C. 284 to begin immediate construction of a steel slat border fence in the areas deemed vulnerable by your task force.

6. Thank the Democrats for funding the necessary components of border security that will work in conjunction with the new border wall. Smile big. Point at Nancy Pelosi. Give her a hearty clap and ask the crowd to join you.

7. Once all this is done, work with your advisers to come up with a fair but clear cut way to make Mexico pay for it. They may not write a check, but we still have plenty of leverage to extract the funds through other means.

Some of you will note that I’m not a fan of the President’s, so why would I offer a solution. I’m a fan of America. I want the border secured. I want Americans to get paid instead of being political pawns. I may not agree with everything the President does or how he goes about doing it, but we need to set aside our complaints for now to get the wall built and the government shutdown ended.

This series of actions would let the President and America have our cake and eat it, too. More funds for border security. Government shutdown ended. Border wall getting built. This is exactly what the President needs to do to win big for all of us.