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25 Venezuelan troops seek asylum in Brazil embassy: official
BRASILIA, May 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – At least 25 Venezuelan troops have sought
asylum in Brazil’s embassy in Caracas, a senior Brazilian official said
Tuesday, after Venezuela’s self-declared president Juan Guaido claimed
soldiers had joined him.
A spokesman for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said soldiers and
lieutenants were among the applicants.
The petitions for asylum came as Bolsonaro threw his support behind
Venezuelans “enslaved by a dictator,” a reference to President Nicolas Maduro
whom Guaido is challenging for power.
“Brazil is on the side of the people of Venezuela, President Juan Guaido
and the freedom of Venezuelans,” Bolsonaro said in a series of tweets.
“We support the freedom of this sister nation to finally live a true
democracy.”
Foreign minister Ernesto Araujo reiterated Brazil’s support for a
“democratic transition” and expressed “hopes that the Venezuelan military
will be part of this process.”
Brazil is among more than 50 countries that have recognized Guaido as
Venezuela’s interim president.
An apparently carefully planned attempt by Guaido to demonstrate growing
military support on Tuesday, however, disintegrated into rioting in the
Venezuelan capital, sparking calls for restraint.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0859 hrs