Plaza Altamira military

The Plaza Altamira military were a group of initially fourteen Venezuelan military officers, both active and retired who on 22 October 2002 spoke out against the government of Hugo Chávez in the Altamira Square, in eastern Caracas, declaring the square a "liberated zone" and inviting their fellow soldiers to join them with the aim of achieving Chávez's resignation.^[1][2] The group was widely supported by civil society,^[3] and during the course of the protest at least 102 more military personnel joined the group, as well as thousands of opposition demonstrators.^[4] On 6 December, waiter João de Gouveia fired into the crowd gathered in the square, killing three people and wounding 25 others. João was subdued and handed over to the authorities moments later.^[5] On 20 February 2003, four other people participating in the rally, including three military personnel, were found dead, after apparently being abducted days earlier in the square.^[6]

Plaza Altamira military
Part of Protests against Hugo Chávez
Plaza Altamira, place where the military protest took place
Date	22 October 2002-Early 2003
Location	Altamira Square, Caracas, Venezuela
Goals	Resignation of Hugo Chávez
Resulted in	Protest fails to achieve objectives
Casualties
Death(s)	3 (João de Gouveia's shooting) 4 (abduction)
Injuries	25 (João de Gouveia's shooting)

The government decided to let the protest continue, without repressing it. After several months, the rally lost momentum and failed to achieve its objectives.^[3]

See also

• 2002 Venezuelan coup attempt
• Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003
• 2004 Venezuelan protests
• 2004 Venezuelan recall referendum
• Venezuelan crisis defection
• Pronunciamiento

References

1. "La oposición apoya a 14 altos mandos militares sublevados contra Chávez". El País (in Spanish). 2002-10-24. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
2. "Un mes de rebeldía en la Plaza Altamira de Caracas". El Universo. 2002-11-24. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
3. Márquez, Laureano; Sanabria, Eduardo (2018). "Llegó la dictablanda...". Historieta de Venezuela: De Macuro a Maduro. Gráficas Pedrazas. p. 158.
4. "Venezuela, 60 días de rebeldía". El Universo (in Spanish). 2002-12-22. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
5. "Condena por muertos en protesta". BBC News. 2003-04-15. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
6. Caracas, Owain Johnson in (2003-02-20). "Anti-Chavez protesters murdered". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-05-26.

Further reading

• "Juicio a militares rebeldes". 2002-10-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
• "Los rebeldes piden el alzamiento militar en Venezuela tras los disturbios que han dejado dos muertos". El País. 2002-12-06. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2021-05-26.