Military backs Maduro

• EU urges quick election; Pompeo warns against force
• Caracas shuts embassies, consulates in US 
• US orders non-emergency embassy staff to leave Venezuela

Venezuela's powerful military threw its weight behind President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday as the US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido pressed a direct challenge to his authority, and the fate of the crisis-wracked country hung in the balance.

As the death toll from days of street protests jumped to 26, a defiant Maduro announced the closure of Venezuela's embassy and consulates in the United States, a day after President Donald Trump's administration declared his regime "illegitimate."

And West followed Trump. EU yesterday said it is drafting an appeal for Maduro to convene quick elections, with some demanding recognition of Guaido as interim president if he does not.

The oil-rich but economically devastated country was plunged into uncertainty Wednesday when Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, proclaimed himself "acting president" -- earning swift endorsement from Washington and a dozen regional powers including Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.

Flanked by military top brass, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, himself a general, declared the 56-year-old Maduro "the legitimate president" -- and vowed to defend his authority against an attempted "coup d'etat." Following Padrino's lead, eight generals in turn reiterated their "absolute loyalty to Maduro in messages carried on state television.

In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo kept up the pressure on the leftist leader, as the US called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting on the crisis.

A furious Maduro on Wednesday issued US diplomats a 72-hour deadline to leave the country, and on Thursday said he was recalling all Venezuelan diplomats from US.

The State Department meanwhile ordered its non-emergency staff to leave Venezuela but refused to comply with a full expulsion, saying it would maintain diplomatic ties with "the government of interim President Guaido."

Outside South America, the United States has been joined by Canada and Britain in recognizing Guaido as Venezuela's interim leader, while France has also rejected Maduro's legitimacy.

But both Russia and China and have thrown their weight behind the embattled Maduro.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Maduro to express support, charging that the "crisis has been provoked from the outside."

China, Venezuela's main creditor, opposed "interference in Venezuelan affairs by external forces." Maduro has retained the support of Mexico, Cuba and Bolivia, all led by leftist governments.