The crisis in Venezuela has split the world's allegiances

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Support for dueling presidents in Venezuela has broken along traditional lines. China and Russia, which have billions of dollars in loans to Venezuela, back President Nicolas Maduro. As does Cuba, its political and military patron. While the U.S. and most Latin American nations, which have felt the brunt of a migration crisis, back the head of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido.

Since swearing himself in as the rightful leader of Venezuela on Jan. 23, Guaido has led a campaign to try to wrest control of government assets abroad, including bank accounts, gold holdings, properties and U.S. refining unit Citgo. U.S. President Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on Maduro with sanctions that prohibit Venezuela crude imports. The Bank of England is said to have blocked Maduro’s efforts to repatriate $1.2 billion of its gold it holds.

Inflation is running at 311,000 percent over the past 12 months, the economy has contracted for five consecutive years and oil output is sinking, deepening a humanitarian crisis that’s seen more than 3 million people flee the country.