“This was a very high stakes gamble … and it hasn’t really paid off,” said Phil Gunson, a Caracas-based expert for Crisis Group and author of a report on possible solutions to Venezuela’s crisis. “Plan A has certainly not worked.”

That reality has forced Venezuela’s opposition to begin exploring alternatives, particularly after a botched bid to spark a military uprising on 30 April.

This month, Guaidó and Maduro representatives met on the Caribbean island of Barbados for the latest round of talks optimists hope could lead to free presidential elections in 2020, but which pessimists dismiss as a stalling tactic from Venezuela’s wily authoritarian leader.