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Venezuela's powerful military threw its weight behind 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. The oil-rich but economically devastated country was plunged into uncertainty on 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.