Regime is braced for coup as top air force general switches sides
THE Socialist regime in Venezuela was teetering on the verge of collapse last night as tens of thousands of protesters against President Nicolas Maduro took to the streets.
With the country in chaos and facing economic ruin, Mr Maduro has been under mounting pressure to step down.
His position was gravely weakened by the defection of General Francisco Yanez, a member of the air force high command, who said: ‘The transition to democracy is imminent,’ and claimed ‘90% of the armed forces are against the president’.
Last month, opposition leader Juan Guaido, head of the National Assembly, declared himself ‘interim president’, winning the
‘This movement is unstoppable’
support of the US. But Mr Maduro, 56 – who, along with his predecessor has continued to cling to power.
Forty people died in protests last weekend with UN observers fearing further bloodshed this weekend. Yesterday, Mr Maduro’s supporters faced off against anti-regime protesters in mass demonstrations in the capital Caracas and cities across the country.
Mr Guaido addressed the crowd in Caracas, saying: ‘This movement is historic and unstoppable.’
He had earlier urged his followers to take to the streets ‘in a massive show of popular support’.
‘We are marching because we can’t take this situation any more,’ said Carmen Sanchez, 42, who lives in the slums of Caracas. ‘We do not have enough money for food. This government has to resign for Venezuela to be beautiful again. I have faith Guaido will bring us success.’ Mr Guaido, 35, has branded the president ‘a tyrant and dictator’ and has blamed him for plunging the country into a ‘pit of corruption and despair’. Although state-run TV did not broadcast the protests, one clip on social media showed a police officer in the city of Barquisimeto telling marchers he would not use violence against them. One protester was shown hugging the officer. But riot police flanked by armoured vehicles took to the streets of several cities to face down protests. In Ciudad Guayana, a city in the northeast of the country, a statue of Chavez, the figurehead of Venezuelan socialism, was torn down, cut in half and strungfrom a bridge.
Chavez, a dictator believed to be responsible for the murder of hundreds of political rivals, died in 2013 having taken power in 1999.
In a bid to dispel the protest, Mr Maduro last night proposed bringing forward to this year parliamentary elections scheduled for 2020.
Mr Guaido has admitted having clandestine meetings with highranking military leaders but, with the exception of yesterday’s defection by General Yanez, the military has remained loyal to Mr Maduro. Military support is seen as crucial to his hold on power.
The US has imposed sweeping sanctions in a bid to oust Mr Maduro, who retains the backing of Russia and China.
The European Parliament has voted to recognise Venezuela’s interim president Juan Guaido.
Mr Maduro has been accused of widespread corruption and of driving the oil-rich nation into economic collapse.
The international community has been shocked by the rapid descent of Venezuela in recent years, as its immense oil wealth has been squandered to the point where much of the population is starving, with inflation soaring above a million per cent. More than two million Venezuelans have fled to neighbouring countries.
US Vice President Mike Pence told a rally of exiled Venezuelans in Miami on Friday: ‘Maduro’s tyranny must end and must end now. Let me be very clear, this is no time for dialogue. This is a time for action. The time has come to end Maduro’s dictatorship once and for all.’
And US National Security Adviser John Bolton suggested Mr Maduro would end up in prison in Guantanamo Bay if he did not give up power: ‘I wish him a long, quiet retirement on a pretty beach far from Venezuela. The sooner he takes advantage of that, the sooner he’s likely to have a nice, quiet retirement on a pretty beach rather than being in some other beach area like Guantanamo.’
President Maduro called the US sanctions and support for his rival a political power play and ‘yet another attempt’ by the West to seize control of Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Many believe the combination of the US oil sanctions – cutting off vital cashflow to Mr Maduro’s government – combined with the protests could signal the imminent end of his regime.
‘Maduro’s tyranny must end now’