…As Guaidó hints at ‘amnesty’ for Maduro in Venezuela***

Italy’s nationalist-populist government on Thursday told an NGO migrant rescue boat that it would be refused entry to Italy’s shores, and directed it to France instead — the latest in an escalating feud between the two countries.

5-Star Movement leader and Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said that the Sea Watch ship, which he said is currently sailing toward Siciliy, will be given medical support from the Italian government, but the asylum seekers on board will not be allowed to disembark.

“After that, I invite it to point the bow towards Marseilles and land people on French soil instead of waiting unncecessarily in Italian waters for days.” Di Maio said via Facebook.

“The Mediterranean is not only about Italy, Greece or Spain. But France too. And it has to do its part,” he said of the migration crisis.

The boat is carrying 47 migrants, according to Italian news agency ANSA, and is believed to be heading toward the Italian coast after hitting bad weather. According to Il Giornale, Di Maio’s nationalist League counterpart Matteo Salvini had already said that Italy would not bend to the “provocation” and that the ports remained closed.

Pointing the boat toward France is the latest escalation in a diplomatic spat between the two countries, which started as the country’s leaders have disagreed over the migrant crisis facing the continent.

Italy has taken a much tougher approach after the nationalist-populist coalition took power last year,  promising to cut down on immigration, and has enraged other countries by refusing to take migrants from Africa picked up on rescue boats  — although this month it reluctantly agreed to take around 10 migrants.

Di Maio sparked a diplomatic incident when he said earlier this week that France “impoverished” Africa and said that “in order to keep the Africans in Africa, it would be enough for the French to stay home.” France’s foreign ministry summoned the Italian ambassador in response to Di Maio’s remarks.

However, Salvini later offered a similar argument, accusing France of having “no interest in stabilizing” the situation in places like Libya, and arguing that France “has little to get angry about because it has turned back thousands of migrants, including women and children, at the border.”

“I don’t take lessons on humanity and generosity from [French President Emmanuel] Macron,” he later added.

In the meantime, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó has said he would consider an amnesty for President Nicolás Maduro if he cedes power.

Mr Guaidó, who declared himself interim president on Wednesday, said he was reaching out to all sectors including the military to end the crisis.

Mr Maduro began a second term after polls marred by an opposition boycott and vote-rigging claims.

The global community is split on whether to recognise his government.

But so far, Mr Maduro retains the crucial support of Venezuela’s military.

Who is backing whom?

The US, more than a dozen Latin American countries, Canada and the UK have backed Mr Guaidó – who is leader of Venezuela’s elected National Congress – after he said he was the legitimate president.

But Russia has condemned foreign support for Mr Guaidó, saying it violates international law and is a “direct path to bloodshed”. China, Mexico and Turkey also back Mr Maduro.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has requested a UN Security Council meeting be held on the issue on Saturday.

At a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Thursday he described Mr Maduro’s government as “morally bankrupt” and “undemocratic to the core”.

US National Security Adviser John Bolton has said the Trump administration is working on a plan to funnel funds to Mr Guaidó.

President Trump has said that “all options are on the table” in response to the unrest.

What did Guaidó say?

Mr Guaidó and his allies accuse Mr Maduro of usurping power through a fraudulent election.

“Our challenge is to secure free elections, and we want them as soon as possible. But we are living in a dictatorship,” Mr Guaidó told US Spanish-language TV station Univision.

He previously told the Financial Times: “No one wants to live like this, whatever their politics: people going five or six months without running water in their houses, without medicines, without enough money to buy food.”

Discussing a possible amnesty for Mr Maduro, Mr Guaidó said a similar move had played a role in Chile’s democratic transition.

“These amnesties are on the table for all those who are ready to… restore the constitutional order,” he said.

He vowed to hold free elections to “move forward rapidly to overcome this crisis”.

He has previously said articles within the country’s constitution allow him to assume power temporarily because the election was a sham.

Fox News with additional report from BBC