Venezuelan authorities have suppressed a military rebellion near the central city of Valencia, a ruling official said on Sunday, days after President Nicolas Maduro formed a legislative superbody internationally condemned as a power grab.
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan authorities have suppressed a military rebellion near the central city of Valencia, a ruling official said on Sunday, days after President Nicolas Maduro formed a legislative superbody internationally condemned as a power grab.
Socialist Party deputy Diosdado Cabello made the announcement shortly after the release of a video showing a group of men in military uniform announcing a rebellion and calling for a broad uprising against President Nicolas Maduro.
One witness in the area of a military base in the town of Naguanagua reported hearing gunshots before dawn, but Cabello said the situation had been brought under control.
The Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Friday, government allies inaugurated a new legislative superbody that the Venezuelan opposition and leaders around the world denounced as a power grab by Maduro.
In Sunday’s video, a man who identified himself as Juan Carlos Caguaripano, a former National Guard captain, said: « We demand the immediate formation of a transition government. » He was flanked by about a dozen men in military uniforms.
« This is not a coup d’etat, » he said. « This is a civic and military action to re-establish constitutional order. But more than that, it is to save the country from total destruction. »
On Saturday, Maduro’s new « constituent assembly » removed the chief prosecutor from her post and ordered her to stand trial, confirming opposition fears that it would use its powers to root out critics of the government.
