Guaido urges troops to rise against Maduro
caracas — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Tuesday called for a military uprising to oust President Nicolas Maduro and violence broke out at anti-government protests as the country hit a new crisis point after years of political and economic chaos.
Several dozen armed troops accompanying Guaido clashed with soldiers supporting Maduro at a rally outside the La Carlota air base in Caracas, but the incident fizzled out and did not appear to be part of an immediate attempt by the opposition to take power through military force.
Guaido, in a video posted on Twitter earlier on Tuesday, wrote that he had begun the “final phase” of his campaign to topple Maduro, calling on Venezuelans and the armed forces to back him ahead of May Day mass street protests planned for Wednesday. —
caracas — Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed acting president Juan Guaido said on Tuesday that troops had joined his campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro as the government vowed to put down what it said was an attempted coup.
“We are currently facing and deactivating a small group of treacherous military personnel who took positions in the Altamira distributor road (in Caracas) to promote a coup d’etat,” Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said on Twitter.
“We call on the people to remain on maximum alert to — with our glorious National Bolivarian Armed Forces — defeat the attempted coup and preserve peace,” he said.
In a video recorded at a Caracas military air base posted on social media, Guaido said troops had heeded months of urging to join his campaign to oust Maduro.
“Today brave soldiers, brave patriots, brave men supporting the constitution have answered our call,” he said.
He appeared alongside highprofile opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez who had been put under home arrest by Maduro’s regime but who announced he had been ‘freed’ by soldiers supporting Guaido. Lopez posted a picture on Twitter with men in uniform, and said it was taken at the Carlota military base. “Venezuela: the definitive phase to end the usurpation, Operation Liberty, has begun,” read the message.
Venezuela’s Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez asserted on Twitter that the situation in military barracks and bases in the country was ‘normal’.
Tensions in Venezuela have been ratcheted up to a critical level this year, after Guaido, who is head of the opposition-ruled congress, announced January 23 that he was the acting president under the constitution. He said Maduro had been fraudulently re-elected last year.
The United States and major Latin American powers including Brazil, Peru and Chile swiftly backed Guaido, followed later on by the European Union.
But Maduro, who since taking over from his late mentor Hugo Chavez in 2013 has presided over a catastrophic economic implosion, has been able to count on support from Russia and China, Venezuela’s two biggest creditors.
Although US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said ‘all options’ are on the table regarding Venezuela — including, implicitly, military action — there has been no noticeable US military mobilisation. Instead, Washington has upped the economic pressure, through sanctions aimed at Maduro’s regime and by cutting sales of Venezuelan oil — the South American country’s main revenue earner. —
Today brave soldiers, brave patriots, brave men supporting the constitution have answered our call
Juan Guaido, Venezuelan oppn leader
The US government fully supports the Venezuelan people in their quest for freedom and democracy
Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State
We reject this coup movement, which aims to fill the country with violence. Military units report normality
Vladimir Padrino, Defence Minister