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Venezuela government claims control after 'terrorist' attack on military base Venezuela government and rebellious soldiers each claim victory in base attack
(about 5 hours later)
An apparent military uprising has been quashed in Venezuela, after a small group of men dressed as soldiers were reported to have attacked an army base, declaring themselves in rebellion against the government of President Nicolás Maduro. A small group of men staged a pre-dawn assault on an army base in Venezuela on Sunday, making off with weapons and declaring them themselves in rebellion against the beleaguered government of President Nicolás Maduro.
Remigio Ceballos, strategic commander of the armed forces, tweeted on Sunday that seven people had been arrested. Local media reports of two dead could not immediately be confirmed. Government officials and a spokesman for the rebellious soldiers offered conflicting versions of events at the Paramacay military base in Valencia, each declaring victory.
The leader of Venezuela’s ruling party, Diosdado Cabello, first reported the attack at the Fort Paramacay base near the city of Valencia via Twitter early on Sunday. He said the situation had been controlled by troops loyal to the socialist government, which has come under widespread condemnation for moves seen as attempts to strengthen its grip on power. Maduro, whose socialist government has come under widespread condemnation for moves seen as attempts to strengthen its grip on power, said 20 men stormed the base shortly before 4am. Sentries were caught off guard and the attackers made for the base weapons supply, he said.
Ceballos said the armed forces had quickly repelled the “terrorist, criminal and paramilitary” attack. Speaking on his weekly television program, Maduro said loyal soldiers “responded with the assault rifles of the homeland”, killing two attackers and wounding another. Seven others were arrested and 10 escaped, he said, adding: “They are being actively search for.”
Gen Suárez Chourio, the army chief, said in a video statement from the Paramacay base the attackers were “detained and defeated” and that “peace has triumphed”. Live footage from residential buildings facing the Paramacay base showed military and civilian helicopters flying low over wooded areas for much of the morning. Detonations were heard in the distance.
However, local television reports broadcast images of the base throughout the morning, with sporadic explosions heard in the distance. Civilians near the base spilled out on to the streets in apparent support for the dissident troops. Minor clashes between the civilians and national guard units posted outside the base were reported. Of those rebels who did not escape, according to Maduro, only one was a military officer and he had deserted a few months ago.
In a video released early on Sunday on social media, a man who identified himself as Capt Juan Caguaripano was flanked by about a dozen men in fatigues, some holding assault rifles, as he declared a rebellion against Maduro. Gen Suárez Chourio, the army chief, said in a video statement the attackers had been “detained and defeated” and that “peace has triumphed”.
“This is not a coup d’etat,” he said. “This is a civic and military action to re-establish the constitutional order. But more than that, it is to save the country from total destruction. However, Capt Juan Caguaripano, the apparent leader of the rebellion, said on Twitter “the objectives were achieved satisfactorily in coalition with comrades of different components of the armed forces”.
Early on Sunday, Caguaripano launched a video on social media in which he declared rebellion against the government.
Sgt Giomar Flores, who defected from the Venezuelan navy in June and is now living as a refugee in Colombia, told the Guardian “Operation David”, in which he said he was involved, had been a “complete success”.
“We took four battalions and one put up resistance,” said Flores, who claims to be in direct contact with the rebellious troops. He denied that any had been killed or captured. “That’s a lie,” he said.
Flores claimed that attackers made off with a “large amount of weapons”, mostly AK-103 assault rifles. He described the operation as the first phase of a broader military movement which has elements within the Venezuelan military and in units outside the country.
“The mission of the movement is to recover the institutional thread of Venezuela and for the armed forces to return to their mission as established in the constitution,” he said.
Civilians near the base spilled on to the streets in apparent support for the dissident troops. Minor clashes between civilians and national guard units posted outside the base were reported.
In the video statement, Caguaripano said the action was not a coup d’etat: “This is a civic and military action to re-establish the constitutional order. But more than that, it is to save the country from total destruction.
“We demand the immediate formation of a transition government.”“We demand the immediate formation of a transition government.”
In 2014, amidst a wave of anti-government protests, Caguaripano, a captain in the national guard, released a 12-minute video denouncing Maduro. He later reportedly sought exile after a military tribunal ordered his arrest. In 2014, amidst a wave of anti-government protests, Caguaripano, a captain in the national guard, released a 12-minute video denouncing Maduro. He reportedly sought exile in the US after a military tribunal ordered his arrest.
Live footage from residential buildings facing the Paramacay base showed military and civilian helicopters flying low over wooded areas. Several detonations could be heard in the distance. There was widespread speculation as to the nature of events. The Venezuelan military top brass has been widely seen as loyal to the government, in part because Maduro has named active and retired officers to key government posts. But analysts have speculated how long that support can hold under immense international and domestic pressure for a change of leadership, amid crippling shortages of basic goods, including food and medicines, rampant inflation and uncontrolled crime.
“There is considerable doubt as to whether this is promoted somehow by the government as an excuse for a crackdown or whether it’s wholly genuine,” said Phil Gunson, Venezuela analyst for the International Crisis Group. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have fled the country as the crisis has deepened and repression against political opponents and human rights defenders has increased.
The apparent rebellion took place a day after the opening session of a new super-powerful constituent assembly, which dozens of countries and the Venezuelan opposition have called illegitimate and say serves only to support a Maduro “dictatorship” by bypassing the opposition-controlled legislature. The assault took place a day after the opening session of a new super-powerful constituent assembly, which dozens of countries and the Venezuelan opposition have called illegitimate, saying it serves only to support a Maduro “dictatorship” by bypassing the opposition-controlled legislature.
As its first act, the assembly summarily dismissed the nation’s chief prosecutor, Luisa Ortega, a long-time government loyalist who broke with Maduro and has become one of the government’s sharpest critics. Delegates later swore in as her replacement ombudsman Tarek William Saab, who was recently sanctioned by the Trump administration for failing to protect protesters from abuses in his role as the nation’s top human rights official. As its first act, the assembly dismissed the nation’s chief prosecutor, Luisa Ortega, a long-time government loyalist who broke with Maduro and has become one of the government’s sharpest critics.
Ortega said her dismissal was illegitimate. “I do not recognize that removal [from office],” she said in a speech on Sunday. “I am still the chief prosecutor of this country.” Delegates later swore in as her replacement ombudsman Tarek William Saab, who was recently sanctioned by the Trump administration for failing to protect protesters from abuses in his role as the nation’s top human rights official.
The US, which has imposed sanctions on Maduro, called the sacking “illegal”, with a state department spokeswoman saying it was aimed at tightening the “authoritarian dictatorship of [the] Maduro regime”. Ortega said her dismissal was not legitimate. “I do not recognize that removal [from office],” she said in a speech on Sunday. “I am still the chief prosecutor of this country.”
The US, which has imposed sanctions on Maduro, called Ortega’s sacking illegal, a state department spokeswoman saying it was aimed at tightening the “authoritarian dictatorship of [the] Maduro regime”.
Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru also slammed the decision. Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil announced Venezuela’s indefinite suspension from the South American trading bloc Mercosur, for its “rupture of the democratic order”.Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru also slammed the decision. Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil announced Venezuela’s indefinite suspension from the South American trading bloc Mercosur, for its “rupture of the democratic order”.
“The countries of the region … must continue to tell the Venezuelan regime that in the Americas, there is no place for dictatorships or for the tyrants that lead them,” the secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) said in a statement.“The countries of the region … must continue to tell the Venezuelan regime that in the Americas, there is no place for dictatorships or for the tyrants that lead them,” the secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) said in a statement.
More than 100 people have been killed, nearly 2,000 wounded and more than 500 detained in months of anti-government protests.More than 100 people have been killed, nearly 2,000 wounded and more than 500 detained in months of anti-government protests.
Two prominent opposition leaders, Antonio Ledezma and Leopoldo López, were taken from their homes by intelligence agents last week, then returned to house arrest on Thursday and Saturday respectively.Two prominent opposition leaders, Antonio Ledezma and Leopoldo López, were taken from their homes by intelligence agents last week, then returned to house arrest on Thursday and Saturday respectively.
The opposition has vowed to maintain street protests against the assembly but rallies grew more muted this week as the assembly vowed to go after those seen as inciting street action.The opposition has vowed to maintain street protests against the assembly but rallies grew more muted this week as the assembly vowed to go after those seen as inciting street action.