Venezuela opposition leader says security forces came to wife's apartment

Juan Guaido, Venezuelan opposition leader and parliament speaker, whose appointment to that position had been cancelled by the country's Supreme Court, declared himself interim president at a rally in the country's capital of Caracas on January 23.

The United States and several other countries recognised Guaido as Venezuela's head of state after his declaration following disputed elections won by the socialist president Nicolas Maduro.

After the police visit, Guaido spoke to reporters from the apartment with his wife and child saying: "They will not intimidate this family".

Neighbours immediately rushed to the high-rise apartment building banging pots and pans.

The opposition contents the legitimacy of the election Maduro won in May, which is also not recognised by the United States, the European Union and a large part of the worldwide community.

"We have a plan, well thought out, structured", Guaido said at the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences in the Central University of Venezuela on Thursday, noting that "it is the sum of many sacrifices". The assembly had days earlier promised an amnesty to soldiers who abandoned Maduro.

'I will hold you responsible for any threat to my baby, ' he added.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeted updates on Thursday's aggressive attack on the interim president. Because 90% of the population wants a change, ' Juan Guaido says.

Opposition politician Gilbert Caro shouts "Free elections" in a walk out against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela. The European Parliament's resolution to recognize Juan Guaido as Venezuelan president can be considered meddling into the affairs of a sovereign state and an act of outside pressure, Chairman of the Russian Federation Council's (upper house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev stated on Thursday.

European Union lawmakers voted 439 in favor to 104 against, with 88 abstentions, at a special session in Brussels to recognize Venezuelan congress head Guaido as interim leader.

"The security of interim President Guaido is a concern", said Abrams while speaking to the press, according to Reuters.

Venezuela's military attache to Washington, Army Colonel Jose Luis Silva, breaks ranks with Maduro, becoming the first major military officer to publicly switch support.

The political shake-up of Venezuela has beckoned global political contenders.

In contrast, Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Turkey voiced support for Maduro, while China called for resolving all differences peacefully and warned against foreign interference.

On one side of the tussle for control of Venezuela - an OPEC member with the world's largest oil reserves but in dire financial straits - Guaido and Western backers led by the U.S. are insisting on an immediate transition and fresh elections.

All eyes are also on Venezuela for its oil, as its an OPEC member with the world's largest oil reserves.

So what's next for Venezuela? "We are confident that Venezuela will deal with its problems on its own, without any unwanted advisors from the outside", he concluded.

A swift end to the tumult appears unlikely as both Guaido and Maduro dig in for a protracted conflict with geopolitical dimensions.