Venezuelan president says 2 intruders killed, 7 nabbed in quashed attack on military base
Nicolas Maduro seeks 'maximum penalty' after video called for rebellion against him
Soldiers battled for three hours Sunday morning against a small band of anti-government fighters who secretly made their way onto a Venezuelan army base, apparently intent on fomenting an uprising, President Nicolas Maduro said.
Troops killed two of the intruders, wounded another and captured seven, but 10 others got away, the embattled leader announced in his weekly broadcast on state television.
"We know where they are headed and all of our military and police force is deployed," Maduro said. He said he would ask for "the maximum penalty for those who participated in this terrorist attack."
The incident happened during the early-morning hours at the Paramacay base in the central city of Valencia. Residents who live nearby said they heard repeated bursts of gunfire starting around 4:30 a.m.
A video showing more than a dozen men dressed in military fatigues, some carrying rifles, began circulating widely on social media around that time. In the recording, a man who identified himself as Capt. Juan Caguaripano said the men were members of the military who oppose Maduro's socialist government and called on military units to declare themselves in open rebellion.
"This is not a coup d'état," the man said. "This is a civic and military action to re-establish the constitutional order."
Twenty men entered the base, catching soldiers on night watch by surprise, Maduro said.
The intruders managed to reach the base's weapons depot before an alarm sounded, alerting troops to the incursion. He said 10 of the invaders then escaped, some carrying off arms, while those left behind exchanged gunfire with soldiers until about 8 a.m. before all were either killed or captured.
"Today we had to defeat terrorism with bullets," Maduro said.
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Dozens of locals gathered outside the base chanting, "Freedom!" and troops dispersed them with tear gas. A man was later shot dead at a protest less than a kilometre away, an opposition party official reported, adding to the scores of people who have been killed in months of unrest.
Hundreds took to the streets in Valencia to support the uprising, said resident Carolina Herrera, who like other witnesses reported shots through the night.
But hooded protesters had been largely dispelled with tear gas by midday on Sunday, and the rest of the South American country of 30 million appeared to be calm.
There have been four months of sustained anti-government protests over what critics call a lurch into dictatorship in the midst of an economic crisis.
The army's commander said those behind the apparent uprising encountered a legion of troops who remained loyal to the government.
Jesus Suarez Chourio said troops responded "with one fist" and "the riffraff was defeated once again."
Authorities said the men were mercenaries working for a U.S.-backed opposition to bring down nearly two decades of
socialism in oil-rich Venezuela, raising the specter of a further government crackdown on dissent in coming days.
"These attacks, planned by delirious minds in Miami, only strengthen the morale of our armed forces and the Bolivarian people," said Socialist Party official Elias Jaua.
In Sunday's video, a man who identified himself as Juan Carlos Caguaripano, a former National Guard captain, said: "We demand the immediate formation of a transition government." He was flanked by about a dozen men in military uniforms.
"This is not a coup d'état," added Caguaripano, who was removed from the National Guard in 2014, according to a document seen by Reuters.
"This is a civic and military action to re-establish constitutional order," he said in the video. "But more than that, it is to save the country from total destruction."
His apparent bid to spur a national uprising comes six weeks after a rogue policemen attacked key installations in Caracas by helicopter, but also failed to spark a larger movement.
Armed Forces in spotlight
Oil-rich but economically ailing Venezuela has a long history of instability. Maduro's mentor, the late Hugo Chavez, started his political career with a 1992 coup attempt, for which he served time in jail before winning the presidency six years later.
Venezuelans view the Armed Forces as the key power broker in their country, and opposition leaders have repeatedly exhorted the military to break with Maduro over what they call his erosion of democracy and brutality toward demonstrators.
But the top brass continues to publicly profess loyalty to his government. Critics say juicy government contracts, corruption, and contraband mean many military officials want Maduro to stay in office and fear persecution should the
opposition take power.
Discontent is higher among lower-tier officials, who are often sent to control rowdy protests and are paid just a few
dozen U.S. dollars a month.
Since April more than 120 people have been killed in unrest as rock-throwing protesters were met by state security forces firing rubber bullets and water cannon.
Maduro has vowed the new "constituent assembly" would bring peace to the violent country, although his opponents called it an attempt to consolidate his power and avoid conventional elections.
Lopez under house arrest
On Saturday, the pro-government body removed the dissident chief prosecutor, Luis Ortega, from her post and ordered her to stand trial, confirming opposition fears that it would use its powers to root out critics of the government.
Ortega had become Maduro's main challenger from within the ruling socialist movement since the start of sustained opposition street protests. She has rejected her removal as illegal and vowed to continue working.
In his Sunday address, Maduro defended the constitutional assembly's right to remove Ortega, comparing it to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to fire Acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she publicly questioned his immigration order shortly after taking office in January.
Maduro also announced that a new "truth commission" was being installed Sunday, setting up its offices in a historic building in Caracas that also houses the Ministry of Foreign Relations. The commission will have the right to require those it summons to testify and those who lie can be charged with perjury, the president said.
Maduro said the assembly is considering creating a law against "hate, intolerance and fascism" that would immediately punish those responsible for the current upheaval.
Maduro frequently refers to opposition leaders and protesters as "fascists."
The president singled out Julio Borges, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, warning him, "Justice is coming for you and the terrorists you've helped advance."
Meanwhile, Brazil has criticized the removal of Ortega, calling her ouster "arbitrary and illegal."
Brazilian President Michel Temer said Sunday the ongoing political crisis in neighbouring Venezuela is worrying and his country is "on the side of the Venezuelan people."
Also Saturday, prominent Opposition Leader Leopoldo Lopez was returned home to serve his sentence under house arrest, days after being hauled back to prison in the middle of the night in a move that drew international condemnation.
The activist's wife, Lilian Tintori, said on Twitter that she and her husband remained committed to achieving "peace and freedom for Venezuela."
Lopez was released from prison July 8 and placed under house arrest after serving three years of a 13-year sentence on charges of inciting violence at opposition rallies. Many human rights groups considered him a political prisoner.
But he was taken back into custody last Tuesday along with former Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma in what many believed was a renewed crackdown on the opposition following the election of delegates to the constitutional assembly.
With files from The Associated Press