Quiet participation of citizens in the steps leading to the military barracks

Venezuela's acting president, Juan Guaidó, today underlined the "fundamental" role of the military in the "transition" aimed at displacing President Nicolás Maduro from power over a day. marked by the anti-Chavez march to the barracks and a tense ambush of the army and police. in the north center of the South American country that left six dead.

Guaidó sought today to try to take advantage of the discontent of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) to provoke a break, but the participation of citizens in his call was reserved for other discrete.

"Our vision is that the armed forces have front-line capabilities," said Guaidó.

"The political, social and economic situation of our country is unsustainable and requires urgent structural changes, and in order to carry out this historic task, the role of the military institution is fundamental," he added.

Guaidó promised "a better future" for the military and called on the armed forces to "side with the Constitution," El Universal reported.

A little more than a hundred Venezuelans marched Saturday in the main barracks of the country to ask the armed forces to stop supporting President Maduro after the failed uprising on Tuesday.

The protesters issued a proclamation calling on the army to support a transitional government headed by Juan Guaidó, recognized as interim president of Venezuela by more than 50 countries.

The largest group of anti-Chavez protesters went under military control of the presidential residence of La Casona, which for years did not occupy any president, where they were arrested by a group of riot police.

The protesters, mostly of advanced age, tried to dialogue and deliver the ANA-approved amnesty law document, which guarantees legal pardon when they rebelled. against Maduro, reported the EFE news agency.

"The Republic has its armed forces to consolidate the democratic change to which it aspires and to play the positive and crucial role it deserves in building this flourishing, democratic, meaningful and glorious Venezuela, with which the founders of the homeland", added Guaidó, quoted by the press agency Europa Press.

However, the low convocation reflects "the hard battle currently facing opponents of President Maduro, who failed to persuade the country's security forces to join forces to overthrow Chavez's leader," he said. said CNN. in a report on the crisis in the country of South America.

For its part, the organization Criminal Forum announced today that between April 30 – the day of failure of the coup attempt and the release of Leopoldo López – May 1st, 256 arrests were recorded, of which 19 were minor. l & # 39; age

From the United States, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has spoken today on Twitter about the crisis in Venezuela:

"The repression perpetrated by Maduro is no limit, the regime forces attacked a Catholic service, driving motorcycles to the church, using tear gas and insulting many people, supporting the people of Venezuela and its interim president, Juan Guaidó, to support a peaceful transition. " , released the head of the US diplomacy on Twitter.

Also on Twitter, the US National Security Advisor, John Bolton, repeated that President Donald Trump was "clear" that Maduro "must leave and the dictatorship must be replaced by democracy."

At the same time, in a puzzling episode, four soldiers, including a general, and two policemen were killed today by strangers in the state of Aragua, local press reported today. 39; hui.

The first reports of the case indicate that the army and the police were ambushed as they had been summoned to act as a result of a "terrorist attack" in the region.

The reports do not contain any details about the attackers, the weapons that they used or if any of them were injured or killed.

The Venezuelan crisis worsened on January 10, when Maduro began a second term that neither the opposition nor much of the international community recognizes, as they consider that the presidential election of May 20, 2018 is a fraud.

On January 23, the president of the AN, Juan Guaidó, was proclaimed "interim president" of Venezuela.