30 Apr 2019; DW: Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Tuesday called for a military uprising to oust acting President Nicolas Maduro, in a video posted alongside soldiers and opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez, who had been under house arrest.
In the three-minute video shot early on Tuesday, Guaido, the self-declared president and leader of Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly, said the "final phase" had begun to end Maduro’s "usurpation" of the constitution.
"The national armed forces have taken the correct decision, and they are counting on the support of the Venezuelan people," he said from the Caracas air base La Carlota, adding that he had met with military units.
Lopez, a leading opposition figure, wrote on Twitter that had been released from house arrest by the military under the constitutional orders of Guaido.
"This is the moment of all Venezuelans, those in uniform and those who aren't," said Lopez in his first public appearance since being detained in 2014 for leading anti-government protests. "Everyone should come to the streets, in peace."
Coup attempt
Venezuelan Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez wrote on Twitter that the Maduro government was "confronting and deactivating a small group of military traitors" backing a coup against the state.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino wrote on Twitter that the armed forces remained "firm" in defending the "legitimate" government of Maduro and that all units were under "normal" military command.
"We reject this coup movement, which aims to fill the country with violence," Padrino said.
Venezuela's socialist party boss, Diosdado Cabello, called into state television urging government supporters to rally at the presidential palace to protect Maduro against an uprising.
Major protests planned for May 1
In January, Guaido invoked the constitution to proclaim himself interim president, arguing that Maduro's re-election in 2018 was illegitimate. Around 50 countries have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's interim president.
The video and heightened tensions came as Guaido has called for "the largest march in Venezuela's history" on Wednesday, May 1.
"People of Venezuela, it is necessary that we take to the streets, to support democratic forces and recover our freedom. Organized and together the main military units have been mobilized," he wrote on Twitter.
Guaido's move represents a significant escalation in tactics that could prompt authorities to arrest him after already stripping him of parliamentary immunity and opening an investigation. It also tests the loyalties of a military that has so far backed Maduro, despite calls from the United States and other regional states for the army to support the opposition.
