CARACAS, Jan 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Venezuela’s powerful military threw its
weight behind Nicolas Maduro on Thursday as the US-backed opposition leader
Juan Guaido pressed a direct challenge to his authority, and the fate of the
crisis-wracked country hung in the balance.
As the death toll from days of street protests jumped to 26, a defiant
Maduro announced the closure of Venezuela’s embassy and consulates in the
United States, a day after President Donald Trump’s administration declared
his regime “illegitimate.”
The oil-rich but economically devastated country was plunged into
uncertainty Wednesday when Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National
Assembly, proclaimed himself “acting president” — earning swift endorsement
from Washington and a dozen regional powers including Brazil, Argentina and
Colombia.
Maduro’s reelection last year was contested by the opposition, and
criticized internationally — but the socialist leader has until now retained
the loyalty of the powerful military, whose response was being keenly
watched.
Flanked by military top brass, the country’s Defense Minister Vladimir
Padrino, himself a general, declared the 56-year-old Maduro “the legitimate
president” — and vowed to defend his authority against an attempted “coup
d’etat.”
Following Padrino’s lead, eight generals in turn reiterated their “absolute
loyalty and subordination” to the socialist leader in messages carried on
state television.
And the Supreme Court — made up of regime loyalists — doubled down by
reaffirming its allegiance to Maduro’s “legitimate authority.”
“A coup is brewing in Venezuela with the consent of foreign governments,”
charged the court’s president Maikel Moreno.
– ‘Debate is done’ –
Analysts at the Eurasia Group consultancy noted that while international
recognition of Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president cemented his position
as the main opposition leader, he had failed to win over senior elements of
the military.
In that light, “Maduro’s fall does not appear imminent,” the analysts
wrote.
In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo kept up the pressure on the
leftist leader, as the United States called for an emergency UN Security
Council meeting on the crisis.
“The time for debate is done. The regime of former president Nicolas Maduro
is illegitimate,” Pompeo said in a speech to the Organization of American
States, warning him against the use of force towards demonstrators.
A furious Maduro on Wednesday issued US diplomats a 72-hour deadline to
leave the country, and on Thursday said he was recalling all Venezuelan
diplomats from the United States.
The State Department meanwhile ordered its non-emergency staff to leave
Venezuela but refused to comply with a full expulsion, saying it would
maintain diplomatic ties with “the government of interim President Guaido.”
Trump meanwhile has openly mused about military intervention in Venezuela,
saying “all options are on the table,” and analysts suggest he could consider
further economic sanctions against the country, a third of whose oil
production goes to the US.
The Republican president has found rare support from the Democratic Party
over Venezuela, but one prominent dissenting voice was independent Senator
Bernie Sanders.
“We must learn the lessons of the past and not be in the business of regime
change or supporting coups — as we have in Chile, Guatemala, Brazil and the
Dominican Republic,” the 2016 presidential hopeful said in a statement, while
also condemning Venezuela’s crackdown on protesters.
Outside South America, the United States has been joined by Canada and
Britain in recognizing Guaido as Venezuela’s interim leader, while France has
also rejected Maduro’s legitimacy.
But both Russia and China and have thrown their weight behind the embattled
Maduro.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Maduro to express support, charging
that the “crisis has been provoked from the outside.”
China, Venezuela’s main creditor, opposed “interference in Venezuelan
affairs by external forces.”
Maduro has retained the support of Mexico, Cuba and Bolivia, all led by
leftist governments.
– Military support key –
Maduro has presided over a deepening economic crisis that has left the
country facing shortages of basic necessities such as food and medicine.
Some 2.3 million people have fled the country since 2015, according to the
United Nations. Inflation is forecast to hit 10 million percent this year.
Guaido’s bold move capped three days of high tension that began Monday when
a group of soldiers took over a command post in the capital Caracas and rose
up against Maduro.
That uprising was quickly quashed and officials said 27 people were
arrested but it set off a wave of smaller protests that were met by security
forces using tear gas and rubber bullets.
Wednesday then saw the first mass street protests in Venezuela since a
crackdown on anti-government protests between April and July 2017 claimed the
lives of 125 people.
Leading figures around the world have appealed for calm to avoid a repeat
of the bloodshed — as a Caracas-based NGO, the Social Conflict Observatory,
said 26 people had been killed since this week’s protests began four days
ago.
Speaking at the World Youth Day in Panama, Pope Francis’s spokesman said he
was “praying for the victims and for all the people of Venezuela.”
And UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, speaking at the World Economic
Forum in Davos, appealed for dialogue to keep the crisis from spiraling out
of control.