Under Guaido, Venezuela to open embassy in Jerusalem: report

Under President Juan Guaido, Venezuela would open an embassy in Israel's capital Jerusalem, Venezuelan envoy Rabbi Pynchas Brener told the Jerusalem Post Monday.

His comments came as Venezuela's Parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus held its first meeting, the newspaper reported, signing a declaration with a call for restoring ties between the two countries.

While a physical embassy is yet to be opened, the country plans to open a website serving as its online substitute next week.

In January 2019, Venezuela's National Assembly declared Guaido to be the country's acting president, while President Nicolas Maduro -- a man sought by the US as a major drug kingpin -- refused to give up his grasp on the country.

With the United States and the European Union throwing their weight behind Guiado, both himself and Maduro are now referring to themselves as the president.

While the ties between Israel and Venezuela were severed by the late Hugo Chavez in the wake of the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, Guaido appointed Rabbi Brener as the envoy to Israel in mid-2019.

The Maduro administration, in its turn, aligns itself with Iran and its regional proxy groups, with Tehran earlier shipping fuel into the crisis-ravaged Venezuela.

In April this year, Maduro appointed Tareck El Aissami, a man wanted in the US and known for his ties to Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah, to head the country's oil ministry.