"It’s not up to him at this point. It’s up to his backbone, and that is the military," Guillermo Zubillaga, head of AS/COA's Venezuela Working Group, told CTV News regarding if Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro will relinquish the presidency.

As the head of the country's National Assembly, Congressman Juan Guaidó administered the oath of office to himself to become interim president on January 23. Zubillaga said it is "beyond symbolic" that nearly the entire Western Hemisphere has officially recognized him as Veneuzela's democratic leader. Zubillaga further explained how the military will play a key role in any transition.

In an interview with CNN International, AS/COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth discussed the situation in Venezuela a day after the head of the country's National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, administered the oath of office to himself to become interim president. Farnsworth discussed the position of the United States as well as the role of the Venezuelan military. “The security forces are the arbiter here depending on what they decide to do. Do they remain loyal to the [Maduro] regime or do they switch their allegiance to Guaidó?”