CARACAS, Dec 23, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A Venezuelan soldier died Sunday during
an assault on a military unit in the south of the country, the government
said, blaming the attack on Brazil-backed political foes.
“Early today, a military unit was attacked in the south of the country by
extremist opposition factions, with a large number of weapons stolen,” the
defense minister, General Vladimir Padrino, wrote on Twitter.
“It was in this terrorist attack that an army officer was killed,” he said.
The assailants “received harmful cooperation from the government of
(Brazil’s right-wing President) Jair Bolsonaro,” charged Communications
Minister Jorge Rodriguez.
Six people were arrested, Rodriguez said.
On December 14, Venezuela’s socialist government accused two lawmakers of
plotting a coup attempt against Maduro, with the alleged involvement of the
opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized as interim president by some
fifty countries.
According to Rodriguez, the plan, which included the taking of two
barracks in the Sucre state, was part of an alleged conspiracy whose plotters
wanted to extend to Caracas and other regions.