2019 Venezuelan uprising attempt

2019 Venezuelan uprising attempt
Part of the Venezuelan presidential crisis
and the Crisis in Venezuela
Top to bottom, left to right:
Juan Guaidó speaking to supporters, pro-Maduro VN-4s responding to protests, pro-Guaidó protesters at La Carlota Air Base, pro-Guaidó VN-4 supporting protests, pro-Guaidó forces gathered
Date30 April 2019
Location
 Venezuela
Resulted inUnsuccessful
Parties

Guaidó forces

  • Military defectors
  • Pro-Guaidó protesters
Lead figures
Number
Unknown

Dozens of National Guardsmen

Thousands of protesters
Casualties and losses
5 officials wounded[3]
4 killed[4]
230 wounded[4]
205 arrested[4]

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]

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]

  1. ^ Vivian Sequera; Angus Berwick; Luc Cohen (30 April 2019). "Venezuela's Guaido calls for uprising but military loyal to Maduro for now". Reuters. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Venezuela crisis: Spain vows to protect opposition figure at embassy". BBC. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b Hansler, Jennifer (30 April 2019). "Pompeo claims Russia stopped Maduro leaving Venezuela for Cuba". CNN. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d "Venezuelan rights group says 4 dead in clashes amid opposition call for uprising". CBC News. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference FinalPhase was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Leopoldo López y su familia ingresaron como huéspedes a la residencia del embajador de Chile". La Patilla (in European Spanish). 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  7. ^ Nicolás Maduro destituyó a Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, director del Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia, que denunció la corrupción del régimen. Publicado el 1 de mayo de 2019. Consultado el 1 de mayo de 2019.
  8. ^ "Tras escapar de Maduro, exjefe del Sebin revela quienes se niegan a dejar el poder". NTN24 (in Spanish). 5 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Unos 25 militares venezolanos piden asilo en la embajada de Brasil en Caracas". El Comercio. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Comunicado del Grupo de Lima". Government of Peru (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  11. ^  • Marsteintredet, Leiv (January–June 2020). "With the cards stacked against you: Challenges to a negotiated transition to democracy in Venezuela". European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. 109: 88. the declaration of the National Assembly's president Juan Guaidó as interim president, and a coup-attempt on April 30, 2019, has (so-far) failed.
    • Mora, José U; de Hurtado, Sadcidi Zerpa; Hurtado, Alberto J. (2021). "Understanding the Venezuelan Crisis: Origins and Current Situation". Journal of Social, Political and Economic Studies. 46 (1/2): 3–26. On April 30, in view of suspicions that Leopoldo López would be transferred back to prison (he was under house arrest) and that Juan Guaidó would be arrested and taken to Fuerte Tiuna to a maximum-security prison, Guaidó and his group had to make a strategic move. ... This operation was also the result of opposition approaches made to General Padrino López, in hopes of staging a coup d état. ... However, as a result of this failed coup d'etat, many members of the military and their families have been accused of conspiracy
    • Kargman, Steven T. (2023). "Venezuelan Saga". The International Economy. 37 (1): 72–73. Guaidó with having pursued showy but ultimately ineffectual demonstrations of opposition, such as a thwarted humanitarian relief effort in February 2019 as well as a failed and hapless coup attempt against the Maduro regime in late April 2019.
    • Trapara, Vladimir (2021). "Problem Venezuele u spoljnoj politici Sjedinjenih Država". Politička Misao. 58 (1): 78–102. doi:10.20901/pm.58.1.04. S2CID 234877300. After three months of a very sharp presidential crisis, ... and with the culmination in the failed coup of April 2019, there is a stalemate, which by the time of writing this paper has already lasted a full year.
    • Peters, Stefan (2019). "Sociedades rentistas: Claves para entender la crisis venezolana". European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies (108): 16. the opposition has applied different non-electoral strategies to achieve the same. These include violent street protests (guarimbas), the pursuit of international sanctions, the self-proclamation of Juan Guaidó as interim president in January 2019, and an attempted coup in late April 2019.
    • Martìnez Castillo, Alberto David (2021). "Populismo en América Latina: el eterno retorno". Ciencia Política. 16 (31): 19–44. on April 30 of that year he controlled the coup attempt by a group from the National Guard
  12. ^  • "Venezuela Crisis: Guaidó Calls for Uprising as Clashes Erupt". The New York Times. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2023. Venezuelan military personnel who had participated in the coup attempt had since sought asylum in the Brazilian Embassy in Caracas
  13. ^  • "Venezuelans take to streets as uprising attempt sputters". Associated Press. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference MaduroExpulsa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Reeves, Philip (5 May 2019). "U.S. Directs Blame At Cuba For Guaidó's Failed Military Uprising In Venezuela". NPR. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  16. ^ "The plot that failed: how Venezuela's 'uprising' fizzled". The Guardian. 3 May 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  17. ^ Guy, Jack (3 May 2019). "Venezuela's Leopoldo Lopez says he met generals during house arrest". CNN. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  18. ^ Joshua Berlinger (2 May 2019). "As Guaido admits he needs more military support, Trump warns of worse to come in Venezuela". CNN. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  19. ^ Goodman, Joshua and Christopher Torchia (1 May 2019). "'We will be in the streets': Venezuela awaits more protests after a day of turmoil". KRNV. Associated Press. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference reutersTSJmembers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference washingtonpostTIAR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference AllyDetained was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference 70Diputados was invoked but never defined (see the help page).