{"id":23535,"date":"2019-05-06T11:09:04","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T03:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=23535"},"modified":"2019-05-06T11:09:06","modified_gmt":"2019-05-06T03:09:06","slug":"pres-maduro-rallies-military-as-venezuela-opposition-appeals-to-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=23535","title":{"rendered":"Pres Maduro rallies military as Venezuela opposition appeals to troops"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

CARACAS, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops to be \u201cready\u201d for potential US military action, as a
limited number of opposition supporters marched on military barracks in a bid to win the armed forces\u2019 support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The small turnout for the Saturday marches \u2014 with participants in the
hundreds, not the thousands \u2014 is another setback for opposition leader Juan Guaido, following a failed military uprising earlier in the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maduro instructed the military \u201cto be ready to defend the
homeland with weapons in your hands if one day the US empire dares to touch this territory, this sacred earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Underscoring the continued military support for his socialist regime,
Maduro delivered his televised address from a base in northwestern Cojedes state \u2014 where he appeared alongside his defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, and in the presence of more than 5,000 troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States has refused to take the threat of military action off the
table in its push to oust Maduro \u2014 although it so far has limited its
campaign to ramping up sanctions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guaido\u2019s cause gained renewed support from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued a video address to the Venezuelan people, telling them: \u201cThe time for transition is now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can hold your institutions, your military and their leaders to the
highest standards and demand a return to democracy,\u201d Pompeo said in the
message. \u201cThe United States stands firmly with you in your quest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Assembly head Guaido, 35, has branded Maduro a usurper over his controversial re-election last year, and in January declared himself acting president, plunging Venezuela into a political crisis that deepened its
already grave economic woes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Maduro has held firm, bolstered by the continued support of the
powerful armed forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI told the generals and admirals: loyalty, I want an active
loyalty\u2026 I trust you, but keep your eyes open, a handful of traitors cannot
tarnish the honor, the unity, the cohesion and the image of the armed
forces,\u201d the president said in his speech from the military base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Twitter, Guaido \u2014 recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela\u2019s
interim president \u2014 urged his supporters to \u201cmobilize in a civil and
peaceful way\u201d to their nearest military base, to persuade the armed forces to abandon Maduro and back a transitional government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Barquisimeto in the northeast, the National Guard pushed back marchers with tear gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe goal is to carry our message without falling into confrontation or
provocation,\u201d added Guaido.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This protest came days after Guaido tried to incite a military insurrection
that fizzled out, with a group of 25 rebel soldiers seeking refuge in the
Brazilian embassy in Caracas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The effort triggered two days of clashes between opposition supporters and
government forces that left four people dead and hundreds injured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with The Washington Post, Guaido appeared to admit that he had overplayed his hand with the failed military uprising, saying that \u201cwe still need more soldiers to support it, to back the constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small groups of protesters marched on four military bases in Caracas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Barquisimeto, a group of women unsuccessfully attempted to pass on to
National Guard troops a document containing Guaido\u2019s proclamation to the
military to abandon Maduro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido invoked the constitution to
declare himself acting president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As major world powers have been drawn in, the US has thrown its support
behind Guaido and Russia and China have backed Maduro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuba\u2019s President Miguel Diaz-Canel, a regional ally of Venezuela\u2019s, said on
Twitter he had spoken to Canada\u2019s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and \u201cstressed the need for dialogue with President Maduro and respect for Venezuela\u2019s sovereignty and international rights without threats or outside
intervention.\u201d — NNN-AGENCIES
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CARACAS, May 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged his troops to be \u201cready\u201d for potential US military action, as alimited number of opposition supporters marched on military barracks in a bid to win the armed forces\u2019 support. The small turnout for the Saturday marches \u2014 with participants in thehundreds, not the thousands \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[208],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23535"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23535\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}