2019 Venezuelan uprising attempt
Failed attempt to overthrow Nicolás Maduro / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On 30 April 2019, during the Venezuelan presidential crisis, a group of several dozen military personnel[5] and civilians joined Juan Guaidó in his call for the removal of Nicolás Maduro as part of what he labeled "Operation Freedom" (Spanish: Operación Libertad). Reuters reported an "uneasy peace" by the afternoon of 30 April.[5] During the unrest, opposition leader Leopoldo López was freed from house arrest after being imprisoned for five years.[6] Manuel Cristopher Figuera, the head of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, denounced the Maduro government and was dismissed from his position[7] before going into hiding.[8] At least 25 military men who opposed Maduro sought asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.[9]
2019 Venezuelan uprising attempt | |||
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Part of the Venezuelan presidential crisis and the Crisis in Venezuela | |||
Date | 30 April 2019 | ||
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Resulted in | Unsuccessful
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In a joint statement, the Lima Group shared support for Guaidó and called for Maduro's exit.[10] Maduro,[3] along with some academics[11] and media outlets,[12] described the actions of Guaidó and his allies as an attempted coup d'état, while other media organizations described the actions as an uprising.[13] Maduro expelled 54 members from the military and the head of intelligence who publicly backed Guaidó.[14] Guaidó's efforts to persuade senior military officials to join his movement failed,[15][16][17][18] with Guaidó stating that going forward, protests would be held every day until Maduro stepped down from power.[19] Guaidó called for his supporters and the country's armed forces to take to the streets again the following day.[5]
By 2 May, four people were killed in the ensuing clashes between opposition protesters and militants on one side, and pro-government protesters and the Venezuelan armed forces on the other.[4] Some National Assembly members had their immunity lifted and were indicted afterwards; several of those indicted, while others went into hiding.[20][21] Additionally, the National Assembly vice-president Edgar Zambrano was later arrested.[22][23]