brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. tonight, who holds the power in venezuela? is the opposition now on the verge of forcing president maduro out? hundreds of thousands attended to the streets across the nation to demand his resignation. the opposition leader has declared himself venezuela's interim president. we will get the latest from caracas on a fast-moving story. also coming up, the men who would make peace in syria. turkish president erdogan says he and russia's vladimir putin agreed to set up a security zone

in northern syria. and germany's chancellor, she doubts about the future of our world order. angela merkel says that change and reform will help counter what she calls the fragmentation of the multilateral world. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff. it's good to have you with us. we begin tonight in venezuela, where the picture of power is unclear at this hour. hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets of the capital caracas and in cities across the country, demanding the resignation of president nicolas maduro. they say that maduro's government is illegitimate and demand he return power to venezuela's national assembly. the opposition leader, juan guaido, has declared himself the country's interim president. the united states and d several south american countries have already officially recognized

him as president. guaido has sworn to end what he calls the usurpation of power by the maduro government. for the latest on this we want to go to our correspondent oscar schlenker who joins me from caracas. opposition leader juan guaido, he has declared himself president. what more can you tell us about that? ososcar: juan guaiaido is a congressman in our parliliament that was elected in 2015. this last month he became president of the national assembly, parliament. parliament has been declared as the only democratically elected body by many countries. they are asking to be the next in command after calling maduro a usurper. they enacted a law calling maduro a usurper last year, but

it was not until he was sworn in as a new term in president that would actually make him a usurper, because they were against the elections held in may, which had a lot of failures, and they called it a fraud. so right now we're seeing ourselves in a conundrum of who to call president here in venezuela. brent: oscar, is it possible to say who actually holds the power in the country? i mean, who o is in control of e military right now? oscar:r: nicolas maduro is inn control l of the high military ththe hi commamand of the military. and there has been a break in command for many of them because we have seen uprisings from the military just this week and throughout the past couple of years we have seen u uprisings from the military. however, the nicolas maduro government has a good control over the milititary.

and that is what worries many people here in venezuela at this moment. brent: you have got movement here. we have got canada, the united states, the organization of american states recognizing the new interim president. but you also have mexico for the time being saying they are not changing their policy on venezuela. this is not a unified front in terms of foreign powers and their relationship with venezuela. is that going to hurt or help maduro? oscar: well, it is really hard to tell. it is juststery complex, because china and russia will surely back maduro. we have the european unionon backing the national assembly. u.s., cananada, and other countries are recognizing juan guaido. it's really diffificult to say t this m moment what is goining to happppen here without knowiningo

or what the government i is sayg about t this new s swearing in f the president ofof the national assesembly, juan guaido. brent: and we know that people were killed in overnight protests, ososcar. what is the situation right now? i i mean, are we l looking at an escalationon of violencece? oscacar: definitelely. there will b be an escalatioionf violence in venezuela. here where i am, we are smelling the tear gas at this moment. there e e barricades beieing put up by different opposisition groups throughout the city and probably throughouout the untrt. we will see anan escalatation of violence in venezuelela. brent: our correspondent oscar schlenker joining us from the capital of venezuela, caracas, where it is unclear tonight who the president is or who is in control of the country. oscar, thank you. let's take the story now to the u.s. capitol, washington, d.c. our correspondent maya shwayder is on the story for us.

good evening to you, maya. what is being said in washington about the situation right now in venezuela? maya: well, this is something that president trump took a very hard line on from the beginning of his administration, much harder than even his predecessor barack obama did. he started handing down sanctions against venezuelans, and more broadly, the venezuelan economy, really from his first year, within the first couple months of his presidency, all but encouraging venezuelans to try to overthrow their own government in response to the venezuelan economic crisis and what they saw as at the very least the last election being extremely fraudulent. so what we saw from the president was surprisingly a rather normal-sounding statement for a u.s. president coming out in support of what he called the new interim president and saying that the venezuelan people have been courageous in their

actions. brent: and we have got reports right now that maduro is waving to crowds of supporters from the balcony of the presidential palace. that is what state television is showing right now in venezuela. we know u.s. president trump recognized juan guaido as venezuela's leader just moments after he declared himself the interim president. i mean, it was almost instantaneously. what do you make of that? maya: it is definitely a big victory for one of president trump's signature foreign policies. again, he has taken a very hard line on this. and the thing we have to remember about the venezuelan-u.s. relationship, venezuela is one of the top three producers of oil in the world. this is why venezuela is relatively important to the u.s. also, up until this crisis started, it was one of the few stable, relatively democratic countries in that region, someone that the u.s. could

really depend on. this was seen as trump trying to pull venezuela back from this abyss that it has been tumbling off of since the economic crisis started spiraling. so, this is something that trump is really going to be able to point to and crow, saying, look, the u.s. has supported democracy in this country. brent: our correspondent maya shwayder on the story for us in washington tonight. maya, thank you. several latin american leaders are in davos for the world economic forum. dw got the reaction of three of them, plus the canadian foreign minister to tonight's news and the events happening in venezuela. their countries have all recognized the self-declared new president of venezuela. take a listen. >> let me say on behalf of canada that we recognize and express our full support for the interim presidency of venezuela assumed by the president of the national assembly, juan guaido, in compliance with the constitution of venezuela, and

we, the members of the lima group, are preparing a fuller written statement which we hope will come out very soon. it's an important day for venezuela and i am grateful for the solidarity of the lima group in speaking out on this. brent: that was the foreign minister there from canada with representatives from the lima group saying they support the new interim president, self-declared president in venezuela. here are some of the other stories now that are making headlines around the world. u.s. president donald trump's former attorney michael cohen has postponed his planned testimony to the u.s. congress. cohen had been due to testify early next month. lawyers cited threats against his family by president trump as the reason for the delay. the acclaimed zimbabwe musician oliver mtukudzi has died at the age of 66. in a career that spanned 40 years and 67 albums, he became the most successful artist to

emerge from zimbabwe. tuku, as he was known, had been suffering from diabetes. zimbabwe is facing fresh unrest after government employees said they would go on strike beginning friday. the council representing half a million civil servants announced the action would take place after pay negotiations failed. it follows president emmerson mnangagwa's pledge to investigate what he calls unacceptable violence by security forces during a crackdown on protests against an increase in fuel tax. 12 people were killed, hundreds injured, but medical sources say the published death toll may be just a fraction of the real figure. reporter: victims of the army crackdown are being treated in hospitals in the capital harare. this man was shot in the leg.

he says he does not want to show his face because he is afraid of being targeted again. harare resident farai mapasi also sufferered injuries after being attatacked by the e secury forces. >> they started beating me with metal rods, logs, and barbed wire. my hand was broken twice and i have a crack on my left leleg. after beatating me, they left in hurry. reporter: the violence erupted just over a week ago after the government dramatically increased the price of fuel. the army a and police were deployed in harare and other cities to disperse protesters and prevent looting. but the security forces were accused by zimbabwe's human rights comomssion of using extrememe violence, and in some cases, torture. >> they seem to resort to use of

brute, excessive, and disproportionate force in most circumstances, thereby causing avoidable loss of life and worsening the situation. reporter: the opposition mdc has also accused the government of deploying the military and its heavy-handed tactics to intimidate and silence its critics. >> it is very unfofortunate and very tragic that we are back to the past. what is clear is that it is total victimization on the basis of frereedom of consciencece. so, we are having all ththese mc members, mp's being victimized. reporter: the president cut short a trip abroad to deal with the crisis. he has promised a national dialogue and an investigation into the alleged abuses, but mistrust and tension in zimbabwe remain high. brent: turkish president recep

tayyip erdogan says he and russian president vladimir putin are on the same page regarding a planned safe zone in northern syria. that zone would be a buffer between turkey and kurdish fighters who erdogan sees as terrorists. speaking after talks with putin in moscow, erdogan said it was of crucial importance the planned u.s. withdrawl from sysyria did not leave room for terrorist groups to roam freely. putin said more action by both ankara and moscow is needed to liquidate the actions of terrorist groups, as he puts it. i'm joined here at the big table now by markus kaim. he's an analyst at the german institute for international and security affairs. it is good to see you again, markus. let me ask you, if donald trump, the u.s. president, had not said that he was going to withdraw troops from syria, would this meeting between erdogan and putin have even taken place? markus: maybe it would have taken place, but likely with a different agenda.

we see the repercussions of the west withdraw from syria which has been announced in december. we were all expecting major geopolitical implications and now we see the united states has left behind, or is going to leave behind some kind of strategic vacuum that will be filled by other countries in the region and from the international scene, russia, turkey, and iran. brent: what does this buffer zone tell you regarding turkey's willingness to attack the kurds, knowing that washington has told it not to? is the buffer zone a guarantee that there will be no attack? markus: no, i don't think so. i think you made the right point. turkey was constrained or even tamed by the united states siding with the ypd, making it very clear that they were some kind of military allies, that they were very useful in fighting isil, and they should be some kind of protected from turkish attacks. and with the united states

having announced the withdrawal of their forces, i think nobody would expect the turkish side to be tamed any longer. so it is difficult to assess if and when the turks will attack the kurdish militia, but i expect this to happen in the next couple days. brent: so you think it is just a matter of time? markus: absolutely. brent: what about the kurds themselves? who are they going to turn to? markus: they are -- to make a long story short, they are the losers of the situation. for a couple of years during the syrian civil war, they seemed to be some kind of winners of the situation, gaining advantage from the situation, gaining some kind of autonomy status within syria even more. now they are reduced to some kind of ethnic tribe within syria, having to turn to the syrian government and ask for some kind of autonomy. brent: but do you think the united states would let these kurdish forces be slaughtered,

knowing that -- trump had that issued warning that he would destroy the economy of turkey if that happened. do you think the u.s. would stand by and let this happen? given the, how to put it, difficult u.s. position in this regard, weakened u.s. position after the announcement, i do not think that the united states has any interest in engaging militarily. therefore, i expect a free hand for the turkish side. brent: markus kaim, as always we appreciate your insights. thank you. the search for that missing footballer, emiliano sala, has been called off for the night. so far, rescuers have failed to find any trace of his plane in the english channel, although unidentified debris is being examined.

authorities say there is little hope of finding him or the plane's pilot alive. the argentinean striker was on his way to join his new team, cardiff city, when the plane disappeared. his family has revealed that in his last message, sala said the plane looked like it was about to fall apart. reporter: hope is rapidly fading here in the cold waters around the channel islands. this search and rescue aircraft is one important cog in the team's effort to find the light aircraft carrying emiliano sala. >> if they were in the water i would say their chance of survival now has diminished to almost zero. if they are safely in a life raft, then their chances of survival are much greater because they are isolated from the cold water. reporter: the piper malibu aircraft with sala and a pilot on board took off on monday evening headed for cardiff, but the plane disappeared frfrom rar on passing the channel islands. emiliano sala only signed with

cardiff on saturday. he said he could not wait to get started, but had returned to france to say farewell to his teammates. media reports have revealed the last what's-app messages sala sent to friends and family. i'm on the plane. it looks like it is falling apart. if in 1.5 hours you do not hear from me, i do not know if they will send someone to take mee -- pick me up becauause they will t find me. i am scared. fans have been honoring 28-year-old sala in what had become his adopted city. back home in argentina, sala's father was crestfallen. >> i spoke to him on sunday. he was very happy that he was moving to cardiff, to an even biggerer club that he likeked. he was doioing well. he was playing well. and this news. when these things happen, there are no words. reporter: sala is the most

expensive player cardiff ever bought. the club's fans are in shock, still hoping he will be found alive. brent: steven is here now with a look at the world economic forum in davos, switzerland. a big address from a big world leader today. steven: german chancellor angela merkel, in this case, telling the world economic forum that global institutions need to be reformed, not downgraded, to avoid what she called the fragmentation of the multilateral world. merkel told the gathering of political and business leaders in the swiss resort town that compromise cannot be seen as a dirty word. reporter: she has been hailed by some as the leader of the free world. today at the world economic forum in davos, german chancellor angela merkel appeared to live up to this title as she pleaded for cooperation among nations. >> i think we should understand our national interest in such a way that we always remember that

others have their own vested interests and factor them in, and then shape a win-win situation that will guide us in international politics. a global architecture will only function if we are able to compromise as a whole. reporter: it was a rebuke to the isolationism of u.s. president donald t trump, who at t the lalast-minute e made his point y canceling his trip to dadavos. to reinforce her point, merkel also called for stronger global economic ties. >> in the european union, we have always been a champion of free trade. i am delighted that starting the first of february, we will have the eu-japan free trade agreement. and we are also in favor of trade talks with the united states. we have been able to complete trade talks with canada, and i think others should follow. reporter: but merkel's plea stood d in sharp contrast with actual events. britain's exit from the eu is just one example of

international ties being severered. that, though, did not stop her from addressing the subject of brexit. >> we all have to deal with the shock that britain wants to leave the union. all my efforts go toward trying to see this happen in a well ordered manner. we want to have a good future partnership. reporter: the future of that partnership, merkel says, is now in the hands of the british. steven: for more on this, let's talk to dw correspondent javier arguedas. he is joining us live from davos, where he is trying to stay warm, i am sure. javier, defending multilateralism cannot really be a hard sell at davos, where globalization is hardly a dirty word. so what in the speech actually made the davos crowd listen? what perked their ears? javier: well, of course i it is not difficult to defend multilateralism as such, but it is difficult to defend

instititutions that represent i. like the wororld bank wiwill be worlrld trade organization. ththat is becaususe they have ce under fifire because thehey aret really being able to deliver the results s and the functitions at ththey were supposed to. and that is ththe message of angela merkel when she says she sees a n need to reform m them. it i is not ababout giving up multilateralism, but reforming it in order for other countries anand powers notot to create sir institutions that t can become n alalternative instead of all countries and all regions working together. steven: another one of the key speeches coming from japanese premier shinzo abe a. how did his remarkrks compared o merkel's? javivier: wellll, it was quiuite remarkabable thahat both leaders seemed to bebe in line whehen it comes to their priorities. shizno abe was spepecifically mentioning the digitalization process and how it affects it. both countries share demographic

problem with aging populations, which of course implies a challenge. he also made a very important emphasis on climate change. angela merkel said that she was glad that shinzo abe will make ththese two points very impoport ones and a priority during the tetenure of japan as leader of e g20 group of countrieses. we can see that both countries seem to be in line just after the free trade agreement of course that japan also signed with the eu. steven: javier, of course data is one of the big topics there, big data, its requirements and a lot of these advanced technologies that are coming. merkel has said that europe needs to find its own way to do -- to deal with big data. these countries represent two polarities. what exactly d does she mean by that? javier: she e probably means the fact that t the eu stillll has o findnd its own way and itsts own path to dealing with some of the scandals that we have seseen in the rerecent years. let's not forgetet that the eu d big trouble with the nsa's

espionage scandal with the united states. now in recent monthshs we have seen repeated efforts to counter some of ththe chinese e state-od companies like huawei that are also under fire for apparently stealing data.a. and all of these efforts have to come from the european union in a unified way. that is another of the big challenges. steveven: as usual, plenty of fg challenges in davos. javier arguedas for us live. sony is moving its european headquarters from london to amsterdam to avoid possible disruptions caused by brexit. the company said the move would help it avoid customs issues tied to britain's exit from the eu at the end of march. despite the move, sony said it would not shift stafaff and operationsns from existing u.k. operations. it's the latest japanese company to relocate to the continent in response to the referendum sult. last year panasonic also moved its headquarters to the netherlands due to potential tax issues that might result from

brexit. and over in latin america, mexico's president has announced a series of social programs for poor committees, measures he says he hopes will stop people from stealing fuel. he made the comments after dozens of people were killed in a pipeline explosion last week. reporter: this was the aftermath of last week's deadly explosion in the state of hidalgo in central mexico. it occurred after hundreds of people rushed to collect gasoline gushing from a pipeline ruptured by suspected thieves. it is hard to imagine a more devastating representation of the country's fuel crisis. mexico's president andres manuel lopez obrador swept to power on the promise to crack down on years of fuel theft, which he says have cost the country billions of dollars in lost revenue. but his decision to close pipelines tapped by criminals

led to shortages and long lines at gas stations across the country. despite the crisis, obrador received a aarm reception, where he announced an almost $10 million investment in social programs for locals. referring to the tragedy in hidalgo, he said -- >> no mexican will have the need to take part in such an activity because they will have work and support from the government. their well-being will bebe secured. fuel theft is over. reporter: gratitude from the crowd there. but elsewhere in the country, relatives have been laying their loved ones to rest. for them, the promise that fuel theft is over has come too late.

steven: and here is a reminder of the top story we're following for you. in venezuela, hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets to demand the resignation of president nicolas maduro. opposition leader juan guaido has declared himself the country's interim president. you're watching "dw news" from berlin. after a short break, brent will be back to take you through "the day." as always, thank you for watching. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

fight is among the civilians . thank you very much for being with us that is -- breast in venezuela this dnesday the leader of the opposition has declared himself as president after a day of mass protest in caracas. at least four people were killed in clashes the test is the news that opposition either one gadadol hasas declared himseself leader ws followed by a dramatic move the us president donald trump. declaring his backing for one day adult. also said no option is off the table