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Venezuela: A Coup Plot Is Alleged Venezuela: A Coup Plot Is Alleged
(about 3 hours later)
The Venezuelan military and opposition politicians on Friday dismissed the government’s latest announcement that it had thwarted a planned coup, this one involving a plot to blow up the presidential palace and the headquarters of the Defense Ministry and a government news channel. Jesús Torrealba, a spokesman for the opposition coalition, told reporters, “The government makes up these stories about coups to avoid talking about how the country is breaking down.” President Nicolás Maduro announced Thursday night that a retired air force general had been arrested and that 13 other people had been implicated in the plot. Venezuela’s Socialist government frequently claims to have uncovered coup plots, often without providing much evidence or follow-up. Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Assembly, said in a television broadcast that the United States had tried to buy the loyalty of air force officers. The State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, called the accusation “ludicrous” and said it was part of a pattern by Venezuela’s government of looking for scapegoats. The Venezuelan military and opposition politicians on Friday dismissed the government’s latest announcement that it had thwarted a planned coup, this one involving a plot to blow up the presidential palace, the headquarters of the Defense Ministry and a government news channel. Jesús Torrealba, a spokesman for the opposition coalition, said, “The government makes up these stories about coups to avoid talking about how the country is breaking down.” President Nicolás Maduro announced Thursday that a retired air force general had been arrested and that 13 other people had been implicated in the plot. The government frequently claims to have uncovered coup plots, often without providing much evidence. Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Assembly, said in a television broadcast that the United States had tried to buy the loyalty of air force officers. The State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, called the accusation “ludicrous.”