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VENEZUELA-POLITICS-MILITARY
Venezuelan military official drops allegiance to Maduro
CARACAS, Feb 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – An active-duty Venezuelan army colonel
who is a military doctor has dropped his allegiance to President Nicolas
Maduro, backing opposition leader Juan Guaido instead.
“Ninety percent of us in the armed forces are really unhappy,” said Colonel
Ruben Paz Jimenez said in a video released Saturday. “We are being used to
keep them in power.”
He urged his fellow soldiers to help allow humanitarian aid into Venezuela.
The shipment of US aid is currently in Cucuta, Colombia, on the border.
Maduro has vowed to prevent the aid from entering, labeling it a precursor
of a US invasion.
A week ago, Air Force General Francisco Yanez also dropped his allegiance
to Maduro. The military’s backing is critical to the sway of power in
Venezuela.
Venezuela’s self-proclaimed acting president Guaido on Friday refused to
rule out the possibility of authorizing United States intervention to help
force President Nicolas Maduro from power and alleviate a humanitarian
crisis.
The opposition leader launched a bid to oust Maduro last month, declaring
himself interim president, a move recognized by the US and around 50 other
countries, including 20 from the European Union.
Under Maduro’s stewardship, oil-rich Venezuela’s economy has collapsed
leaving the country wracked by hyperinflation, recession and shortages of
basic necessities such as food and medicine.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0905 hrs