Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Tuesday called for a military uprising to oust President Nicolas Maduro and armed factions clashed at a protest outside a Caracas air base as the country hit a new crisis point.
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Tuesday called for a military uprising to oust President Nicolas Maduro and armed factions clashed at a protest outside a Caracas air base as the country hit a new crisis point.
Reuters witnesses said several dozen mostly young armed men in military uniform accompanying Guaido exchanged gunfire with soldiers acting in support of Maduro outside the La Carlota air base but the opposition did not appear to be about to take power by force.
Guaido, in a video posted on Twitter earlier on Tuesday morning, said he had begun the “final phase” of his campaign to topple Maduro, calling on Venezuelans and the military to back him to end Maduro’s “usurpation.”
Around three hours after his announcement, there was no sign of any other military activity. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Security forces earlier had fired tear gas at Guaido as hundreds of civilians had joined the group, the witnesses said.
“We reject this coup movement, which aims to fill the country with violence,” said Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.
He said the armed forces remained “firmly in defense of the national constitution and legitimate authorities,” and that all military units across Venezuela “report normality” in their barracks and bases.
The move was Guaido’s boldest effort yet to convince the military to rise up against Maduro. If it fails, it could be seen as evidence that he lacks the support he says he has. It might also encourage the authorities, which have already stripped him of parliamentary immunity and opened multiple investigations into him, to arrest him.
The United States is among some 50 countries that recognize Guaido as Venezuela’s president, and has imposed sanctions to try to dislodge Maduro.
