The White House announced on Tuesday a plan to form a transitional government in Venezuela that would lift U.S. sanctions and require both current President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido to step aside in favor of a five-person governing council.

A one-page document dubbed the Democratic Transition Framework calls for all members of the National Assembly (AN) to be returned to their position, the country's Supreme Court to lift orders of contempt and restore political power to the AN, and mandates the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) be dissolved before sanctions are lifted. It adds that all political prisoners must be immediately released. 

The document also lays out what institutions would be involved with overseeing the transition and how the final decisions would be made. But the document says that military leaders in high command would remain in place during the transitional government, as well as state and local authorities. 

"This framework can provide a path that ends the suffering and opens the path to a brighter future for Venezuela," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. A council of state would govern until it oversees elections, which Pompeo said the United States hoped could be held in six to 12 months.

Asked whether the new proposal indicated the United States was backing away from Guaido, Pompeo said the administration remained "supportive of the work that the rightful president of the Venezuelan people, Juan Guaido, is engaged in."

The Venezuelan government rejected the U.S. framework, according to a a statement from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Arreaza.

Tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. remain high amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The U.S. Justice Department indicted the Venezuelan leader last Thursday, on charges of narcoterrorism, claiming Maduro turned the country into a criminal enterprise for drug traffickers and terrorist organizations.  

Meanwhile, Venezuelan Prosecutor General Tarek William Saab said Tuesday judicial authorities have cited Guaido for questioning on April 2.

Authorities want Guaido "to respond to charges" made by retired military general Cliver Alcala Cordones, who is "currently a fugitive from justice," said Saab.

Guaido is to be questioned in relation to the March 23 seizure of an arms cachet in Colombia that was due to be smuggled into Venezuela.

He is also under investigation in Venezuela for alleged corruption and treason for heading attempts to overthrow the government.

The country has also been hit by COVID-19, and as of Sunday night, Venezuela reported 129 confirmed COVID-19 cases and three deaths from the disease.