Venezuela crisis: Maduro claims victory over 'deranged' coup
attempt
President blames Trump imperialists and ‘coup-mongering far
right’ as rival Juan Guaidó calls for more protests
Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent
Wed 1 May 2019 04.44 BST First published on Wed 1 May 2019
04.02 BST
Nicolás Maduro claimed his troops have thwarted a botched
attempt to topple him masterminded by Venezuela’s “coup-mongering far right”
and Donald Trump’s deranged imperialist “gang”.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/01/venezuela-crisis-maduro-claims-victory-over-deranged-us-backed-coup-attempt
In an hour-long address to the nation on Tuesday night – his
first since the pre-dawn uprising began – Maduro accused opposition leader Juan
Guaidó and his political mentor Leopoldo López of seeking to spark an armed
confrontation that might be used as a pretext for a foreign military
intervention.
However, “loyal and obedient” members of Venezuela’s
Bolivarian armed forces had put down the mutiny within hours of it starting
shortly after 4am, Maduro claimed, in direct contradiction to Guaidó’s earlier
remark that the president no longer had military backing.
By noon there only remained a small group of plotters who
had chosen “the path of betrayal … [and] handed their souls over to the
coup-mongering far right”.
“They failed in their plan. They failed in their call,
because the people of Venezuela want peace,” Maduro said, surrounded by
Venezuela’s military and political elite. “We will continue to emerge
victorious … in the months and years ahead. I have no doubt about it.”
Maduro said the plotters would “not go unpunished” and said
they would face criminal prosecutions “for the serious crimes that have been
committed against the constitution, the rule of law and the right to peace”.
Those claims were contradicted by Guaidó, the young opposition
leader who has been battling to unseat Maduro since January. In a video message
of his own – recorded at an unknown location – Guaidó claimed Maduro no longer
enjoyed the backing or the respect of Venezuela’s armed forces.
Guaidó claimed “a peaceful rebellion”, not an attempted
military coup, was under way and urged supporters to return to the streets on
Wednesday to continue what he called the final stage of “Operation Freedom”. He
said Venezuelans now had the opportunity “to conquer their future”.
In what could result in a flashpoint between the two sides
on Wednesday, Maduro also called for his supporters to take to the streets and
vowed to have “a large, millions-strong march of the working class” on 1 May,
which is also international workers’ day.
Maduro called Tuesday’s “coup-mongering adventure” part of a
US-backed plot to destroy the Bolivarian revolution he inherited after Hugo
Chávez’s death in 2013.
“I truly believe … that the United States of America has
never had a government as deranged as this one,” he said, calling Guaidó and
his team “useful idiots” of the empire.
He also scotched claims from the US secretary of state, Mike
Pompeo, that he had been preparing to flee Venezuela for Cuba on Tuesday
morning, until he was told to stay put by his Russian backers.
“Señor Pompeo, please,” Maduro said.
In a day when the struggle for power on the streets appeared
to hang in the balance, Donald Trump made no mention of Russia when he tweeted
on Tuesday evening, threatening Cuba.
“If Cuban Troops and Militia do not immediately CEASE
military and other operations for the purpose of causing death and destruction
to the Constitution of Venezuela, a full and complete embargo, together with
highest-level sanctions, will be placed on the island of Cuba,” Trump said in a
series of tweets. “Hopefully, all Cuban soldiers will promptly and peacefully
return to their island!”
The Trump administration put its full backing behind Guaidó
after he appeared in a dramatic morning video surrounded by soldiers the “final
phase” of the bid to oust Maduro.
Trump and key US officials tweeted their support for Guaidó,
while the national security adviser, John Bolton, appeared in the grounds of
the White House to declare that the situation had reached a critical moment.
Bolton named three senior officials who he said had been negotiating
with the opposition and accepted that the president had to be replaced.
Bolton called on defence minister Vladimir Padrino, head of
the supreme court, Maikel Moreno and the commander of the presidential guard,
Ivan Rafael Hernandez Dala to fulfill their “commitments” to defect.
He listed the names three times, in a gambit apparently
designed to force their hand but the Venezuelan foreign minister, Jorge
Arreaza, replied: “Dream on [John Bolton] … Not today!”
According to a source close to Venezuela’s opposition,
Guaidó did not receive US planning support or resources for his move on
Tuesday, which came after months of contacts with military officials, the
source said.
But the opposition has nurtured links with Washington since
well before Guaidó took the political center-stage in January – and such
efforts took on a new impulse after Trump took office.
Topics
Venezuela: Moscow persuaded Maduro not to step down, US
claims
US secretary of state says leader ‘had airplane on tarmac’
to leave for Cuba but Russia convinced him to stay
Julian Borger in Washington and Joe Parkin Daniels in Bogotá
Tue 30 Apr 2019 23.42 BST First published on Tue 30 Apr 2019
16.07 BST
The Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, “had an airplane on
the tarmac” and was ready to leave for exile in Cuba when he was persuaded not
to step down by Moscow, the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has claimed.
In a day when the struggle for power on the streets appeared
to hang in the balance, and the US called on top members of the Maduro’s
government to defect, Pompeo suggested that the opposition uprising had come
close to succeeding.
“We’ve watched throughout the day, it’s been a long time
since anyone’s seen Maduro,” Pompeo told CNN. “He had an airplane on the tarmac,
he was ready to leave this morning, as we understand it, and the Russians
indicated he should stay.”
“We think the situation remains incredibly fluid,” he added.
“We know there were senior leaders inside the Maduro government that were
prepared to leave.”
Pompeo said that Maduro’s plane was due to fly to Havana,
but he was unclear on whether the US was offering safe passage to Havana.
“Mr Maduro understands what will happen if he gets on that
airplane,” Pompeo said. Asked what that statement meant, he added: “He knows
our expectations.”
While Pompeo put the blame on Moscow for stalling the
transfer of power, Donald Trump made no mention of Russia when he tweeted on
Tuesday evening, threatening Cuba.
“If Cuban Troops and
Militia do not immediately CEASE military and other operations for the purpose
of causing death and destruction to the Constitution of Venezuela, a full and
complete embargo, together with highest-level sanctions, will be placed on the
island of Cuba,” Trump said in a series of tweets. “Hopefully, all Cuban
soldiers will promptly and peacefully return to their island!”
The Trump administration put its full backing behind the
opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, after he appeared in a dramatic morning video
surrounded by soldiers the “final phase” of the bid to oust Maduro.
Trump and key US officials tweeted their support for Guaidó,
while the national security adviser, John Bolton, appeared in the grounds of
the White House to declare that the situation had reached a critical moment.
Bolton named three senior officials who he said had been
negotiating with the opposition and accepted that the president had to be
replaced.
Bolton called on defence minister Vladimir Padrino, head of
the supreme court, Maikel Moreno and the commander of the presidential guard,
Ivan Rafael Hernandez Dala to fulfill their “commitments” to defect.
He listed the names three times, in a gambit apparently
designed to force their hand.
“We think it is still very important for key members in the
regime who have been talking to the opposition over the last three months to
make good on their commitments to achieve the peaceful transfer of power from
the Maduro clique to interim president Juan Guiadó.
“All [three] agreed that Maduro had to go. They need to be
able to act this afternoon or this evening to bring other military forces to
the side of the interim president,” Bolton said. He said it was possible that
Cuba may prevent the trio from acting.
Bolton also addressed a tweet to the three men, declaring:
“Your time is up. This is your last chance. Accept interim president Guaidó’s
amnesty, protect the Constitution, and remove Maduro, and we will take you off
our sanctions list. Stay with Maduro, and go down with the ship.”
To which the Venezuelan foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza,
replied: “Dream on [John Bolton] … Not today!”
Arreaza had earlier pointed to Bolton’s remarks as proof of
US involvement in the uprising.
“The heads of the coup d’état admit their responsibility
without scruples,” Arreaza said. “The Trump administration, in its despair,
attempts to spark an internal conflict in Venezuela.”
China, Cuba and Russia remain key backers of Maduro. Russia
recently confirmed it has sent nearly a hundred military advisers to Venezuela
in recent months, infuriating Washington.
According to a source close to Venezuela’s opposition,
Guaidó did not receive US planning support or resources for his move on
Tuesday, which came after months of contacts with military officials, the
source said.
But the opposition has nurtured links with Washington since
well before Guaidó took the political center-stage in January – and such
efforts took on a new impulse after Trump took office.
The opposition push in Washington intensified last May,
ahead of elections in Venezuela, when a plan was hatched to declare Maduro
illegitimate before he would assume his second term in January.
A day before Guaidó formally declared himself Venezuela’s interim
president on 22 January, Pence called him to promise the US backing.
The next day, Trump made it official, and Washington has
proved an outspoken supporter for Guaidó.
But although senior US officials have repeatedly stated that
“all options are on the table”, the Trump administration has so far taken
little concrete action beyond further tightening economic sanctions.
Reuters news agency reported on Monday night that Erik
Prince, a prominent and wealthy Trump supporter who runs a global private security
business, has been lobbying for a plan to deploy a private army to help topple
Maduro.
According to the report, Prince, the founder of the
controversial security firm Blackwater, has been seeking investment and
political support for an operation that would involve up to 5,000 mercenaries.
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