Marches in Venezuela: ask the army to stop supporting Nicolás Maduro

CARACAS (AFP) .- The opponents called by

Juan Guaidó

march today to the main barracks of

Venezuela,

to require that military support cease

Nicolás Maduro,

who in turn has called to prepare for a possible attack by the United States.

After a
Failure of the military uprising last Tuesday, the protesters are approaching the bases to present or read a proclamation in which Guaidó asks the armed forces to support a transitional government led by him, recognized as acting agent in more than 50 countries.

Guarded by the riot police, a small group read the proclamation in front of the Navy Command in central Caracas without incident. At other times, opponents rallied to the units, although there were no high concentrations.

In response, Maduro met with the High Command and about 5,300 soldiers at the El Pao Training Center (Cojedes State, North West). There, the socialist leader, under pressure from Washington, asked the army "to be ready to defend the country with weapons in hand if the American empire dares to touch this country".

Maduro also demanded "active loyalty" and vigilance against "traitors," a group of soldiers led by Guaidó and his copartario said Tuesday.

Leopoldo López,

rebellious at the air base of La Carlota in Caracas.

The White House does not exclude armed action in the country with the largest oil reserves, plunged into the worst socio-economic crisis in its modern history.

For "something bigger"

Guaidó emphasized the peaceful nature of the day. "The goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or provocation," he tweeted Saturday.

According to Amnesty International, there were unrest on Tuesday during the rebellion and demonstrations against Maduro claimed the lives of four civilians, 200 wounded and 205 detainees.

The message to the army ratifies the "commitment" of the legislature, with a majority of opposition, with an amnesty law for those who turn their backs on Maduro.

Guaidó had already organized mobilizations in January to military detachments to deliver the text of this standard. "I do not think it will produce a collapse of the army, but it will contribute to a bigger event that will happen soon," said Marcos Rodríguez, a 24-year-old lawyer, getting ready to surrender in La Carlota.

Guaidó did not have the rebellion to cause a break in the armed forces. The management reiterated its loyalty to Maduro, after which 25 men in uniform sought asylum from the embbadies of Brazil and Panama, and Lopez, who had been released from his house arrest by insurgents, was arrested. is a refugee at the ambbadador of Spain.

Denying a failure, Lopez argued that this action "was always raised at first" and that "the break began".

Between Trump and Putin

The uprising fueled tensions between the United States and Russia over the Venezuelan crisis, over which
the presidents spoke on Friday

Donald Trump

and

Vladimir Poutine.

Trump has ratified his support for Guaidó after the White House, which has applied severe sanctions to quell Maduro, said the president was ready to escape to Cuba on Tuesday, but that Moscow had deterred him.

Putin said that attempts to change the government "by force compromise the prospects for a peaceful solution."

"It is not surprising that once the sanctions strategy is exhausted and the country destroys, outside allies are tempted to negotiate directly with the military sector, when it decides to take power," he said. said the badyst Luis Vicente León.

At the same time, the Lima group, made up of a dozen countries that support Guaidó, has agreed to create bridges so that Cuba, Maduro ally, promotes a negotiated solution.

After the meeting, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, of which the country is a member, met by telephone with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and told him the purpose of the holding. "free and fair" elections in Venezuela.

"Cracking"

The situation in Venezuela was also badyzed on Friday at the Pentagon. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said the United States was dealing with military options "adapted" to the circumstances on the ground.

After the uprising, Maduro showed signs of radicalization by calling on the armed forces not to hesitate against the "putschists".

The prosecutor's office requested the capture of 18 civilians and military for their alleged involvement in the uprising. "One option is for Maduro to step up the repression, which is already quite severe," said Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue. But he warns that the situation may escalate if some officers refuse to execute these orders, which would cause a "bigger failure".

An arrest of Guaidó does not seem imminent, given that the United States had warned that it would act of the "last mistake of the dictatorship".