Venezuela strips lawmakers of immunity over uprising – Venezuela crisis
Venezuela lifted the parliamentary immunity of seven lawmakers who supported last week’s failed coup attempt against President Nicolas Maduro
Wednesday, May 8
Venezuela strips lawmakers of immunity over uprising
Venezuela stripped seven opposition lawmakers of their parliamentary immunity for supporting last week's failed military coup against President Nicolas Maduro.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido -- the head of the rival National Assembly legislature -- was not among the seven, despite orchestrating last week's uprising by a group of around 30 military personnel.
Tuesday, May 7
Venezuela to prosecute opposition lawmakers
Venezuela’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the prosecution of seven lawmakers who supported last week’s failed uprising orchestrated by opposition leader Juan Guaido.
The court, announcing the ruling in a statement, said it had asked Attorney General Tarek William Saab “to continue the criminal investigation of this case.”
Monday, May 6
Mass arrests after 'coup' bid
Five people died and 233 were arrested in protests sparked by a failed military 'coup' against Venezuela President Maduro last week, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on Monday.
"All those cases are being investigated," Saab said in a television interview.
A small number of military personnel on April 30 joined opposition leader Guaido outside an air base in the capital Caracas calling on those inside to join the rebellion.
The insurrection quickly petered out, though, and 25 rebel soldiers sought refuge in the Brazilian embassy.
Saab, confirmed that 18 arrest warrants were issued against "civilians and military plotters," although he gave no names.
Sunday, May 5
Venezuelan military helicopter crashes, 7 officers killed
Seven Venezuelan military officers have been killed when their helicopter crashed while heading to a state where President Nicolas Maduro appeared alongside troops Saturday.
The Cougar helicopter hurtled into a mountain outside Caracas in the early hours of an overcast day in the capital.
On board were two lieutenant colonels as well as five lower-ranking officers.
Saturday, May 4
Maduro warns forces of US attack
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro called on the armed forces to be "ready" in the event of a US military offensive against the South American country during a speech to troops.
He called on the military "to 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."
Guaido asks for military support
Opposition leader Juan Guaido will make a fresh bid to rally Venezuela's armed forces behind him with protests at military bases in the crisis-hit country.
The protest call by Guaido comes just days after he urged the military to rise up against Maduro.
Friday, May 3
Trump, Putin discuss Venezuela
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he focused on humanitarian aid for Venezuelans during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, backing away from recent harsh rhetoric about Russian involvement in the crisis.
Trump and Putin spoke for more than an hour on several topics, their first known conversation since December and since tensions flared in Venezuela, where Washington backs opposition leader Juan Guaido and Moscow supports Maduro.
A month ago, when Russia sent a contingent of special forces to Caracas, Trump told reporters, "Russia has to get out."
On Friday, he made no mention of the troops.
"We talked about many things, Venezuela was one of the topics," Trump told reporters at the White House.
"And he [Putin] is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he would like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, and I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid – right now people are starving, they have no food, they have no water," Trump said.
Shanahan, Pompeo and Bolton meet on Venezuela
The commander of US forces in South America briefed top Trump administration officials Friday on the crisis in Venezuela and options for potential military action.
In an interview with a small group of reporters, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Navy Admiral Craig Faller, commander of US Southern Command, flew to Washington to meet with him and other senior officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, President Trump's national security adviser.
"We have a comprehensive set of options tailored to certain conditions, and I'm just going to leave it at that," he said. Pressed to say whether the options include direct military intervention, he said, "I'll leave that to your imagination. All options are on the table."
They reviewed and refined military planning and options for responding to the crisis, Shanahan said. He declined to provide details and gave no indication they made decisions to take any military action.
Guaido calls on Venezuelans to talk to troops
Guaido will take his quest to win over Venezuela's troops back to the streets with a new mobilisation effort outside military installations.
He said at a press conference that Venezuelans should try talking to troops around the country and telling them to "join the movement."
Few heeded Guaido's call for an uprising on Tuesday.
15-year-old killed during protests
Human rights groups said a 15-year-old boy is the latest casualty in Venezuela's ongoing unrest.
The Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict reported on Friday that Yonder Villasmil was killed during a protest in the northwestern state of Merida.
The organisation said Villasmil died on Thursday night in a demonstration over power outages.
Four other deaths were previously reported in protests rocking the nation after Guaido tried to spark a military uprising on Tuesday.
Over 200 have been injured in clashes this week.
The observatory said 58 people have died during protests so far this year.
Ambassador Mario Isea reacts to Spanish govt
Venezuela's ambassador in Madrid rebuked the Spanish government for allowing a leading opponent of Maduro to speak out from his refuge at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas.
Opposition activist Leopoldo Lopez spoke with reporters on Thursday at the gate of the Spanish ambassador's home in the Venezuelan capital, days after breaking house arrest to join an attempted military revolt against Maduro.
Ambassador Mario Isea told Radio Nacional de Espana that permitting Lopez to urge Venezuelans to back the uprising is "inappropriate."
He said on Friday that it's "extraordinary for [Lopez] to use the ambassador's residence as an operational base to abet a military uprising," according to private Spanish news agency Europa Press.
Venezuela's top court has ordered Lopez's arrest, but Spain has refused to hand him over.
Spain says embassy will not become centre of political activity
Spain's acting foreign minister said a Venezuelan anti-government activist is a guest at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas, which can't be turned into a centre of political activities.
Borrell spoke with journalists on Friday during a visit to the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
"He is a guest and was received as a guest," Borrell said. "We can't permit that the Spanish Embassy be the centre of political activities in Venezuela."
Lopez taunts Maduro after court orders arrest
Lopez sent a defiant message to Maduro from his refuge in the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas after the country's top court ordered his arrest on Thursday.
Lopez said Tuesday's opposition attempt to incite a military uprising against Maduro's government, which seemed to have fizzled out by Wednesday, was "part of a process."
"It's a crack that will become a bigger crack ... that will end up breaking the dam," the 48-year-old told reporters congregated outside the residence.
Lopez said he expects the country's military will step up to overthrow Maduro despite setbacks.
He said that in recent weeks he's talked with majors in the Venezuelan armed forces who told him they are committed to Maduro's ouster.
Lopez, who was imprisoned in 2014 and transferred to house arrest three years later, made a sensational public appearance alongside opposition leader Guaido and a group of rebel military personnel outside a Caracas air base on Tuesday.
Lopez said he's spent the last five years surrounded by jail guards and security forces posted at his home, giving him insight into their perspective.
Meanwhile, the Spanish government said it will not hand over Lopez to the Venezuelan government.
Thursday, May 2
Maduro urges military to fight 'any coup plotter'
Maduro called on the armed forces to oppose "any coup plotter" after a military uprising in support of Guaido fizzled out, and subsequent street clashes left four protesters dead.
On Tuesday, Guaido -- who has been recognised by more than 50 countries as the crisis-wracked country's interim president -- urged the armed forces to rise up against the embattled leader.
A small group heeded the call, but the movement failed to ignite -- the military leadership ratified their support for the government, and Maduro is standing his ground despite international pressure.
"Yes, we are in combat, keep morale high in this fight to disarm any traitor, any coup plotter," Maduro said Thursday at a televised event with the military high command, at which he was surrounded by soldiers.
"No one can be afraid -- it is the hour to defend our right to peace," he said at a ceremony attended by 4,500 military personnel, according to the government.
"We've come to ratify our loyalty ... to the supreme commander of the armed forces, who is our only president, President Nicolas Maduro," Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino said at the event.
Top court orders Lopez's arrest
Venezuela's top court has ordered the arrest of Lopez, an opposition activist who took refuge in the Spanish Embassy after joining an attempt to topple Maduro this week.
The Supreme Tribunal of Justice on Thursday instructed police to detain Lopez for violating terms of his house arrest.
On Tuesday, Lopez appeared outside a military base in Caracas with Guaido, who urged the military to overthrow Maduro. When the military did not heed the call, Lopez and his family sought refuge in the Chilean ambassador's residence.
They later moved to the Spanish Embassy.
'End of Maduro government'
Former Venezuelan politician and UN ambassador Diego Arria said he believes the events of the past two days "mark the end" of Maduro's government.
Arria, a former National Congress deputy, minister and governor of Caracas who now lives in exile, told a press conference Thursday at UN headquarters in New York it is incorrect to think of the military as separate from Maduro's government.
"When you have more than half of the ministries controlled by the army, and they control the oil, the diamonds, the coal, the minerals, the gasoline and the justice and economic system, you have to understand that fundamentally the regime is military," Arria said. "So what has to collapse is the regime itself."
He said Venezuela has become "a criminal state controlled by mafia and narco-traffickers" and it "will not come out of this without the use of force."
"I hope it will be our armed forces, and we don't need to appeal to outside," said Arria, who backs opposition leader Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate president.
Maduro highlights military loyalty
Maduro and key military figures made a show of unity in a television broadcast on Thursday, seeking to reject claims by the United States and the opposition that the armed forces high command was prepared to turn on him.
Flanked by Defence Minister Padrino and military operations chief Remigio Ceballos, Maduro said in a dawn national address posted first to social media that the armed forces were "united, cohesive and subordinate to their constitutional mandate".
Trump says 'repression' of Venezuelan people must end
US President Trump said the "brutal repression" of the Venezuelan people must end, and it must end soon.
He said the Venezuelan people are starving and have no water.
"We wish them well," he said.
Trump was speaking Thursday at the White House as part of a National Day of Prayer ceremony.
He began the event by saying he was sending prayers to the people of Venezuela in their "righteous struggle for freedom."
Four dead in two days of protests - human rights group
A Venezuelan human rights group said at least four people died in two days of protests after Guaido called for a military uprising.
The Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict said the dead from the unrest on Tuesday and Wednesday include two people who were shot in the city of La Victoria and two others hit by gunfire in Caracas, the capital.
Human rights activists said at least 230 people were injured and 205 were detained during the clashes between protesters and police.
Lavrov characterises phone call with Pompeo
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has characterised a phone call with US Secretary of State Pompeo about the crisis in Venezuela as having elements of the surreal.
Lavrov made his comments Thursday in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, a day after he spoke with Pompeo about protests against Maduro.
"Pompeo phoned, called for us to refuse to support Maduro, called for Cuba and us not to interfere in the internal affairs of Venezuela. The whole story sounds quite surreal," Lavrov said.
"If you count up all that official representatives of the American administration say about Venezuela, then you can pose questions endlessly and to all these questions the answer will be, to put it diplomatically: it's untrue," he said.
Pompeo claimed earlier that Maduro was ready to flee the South American country, but that unspecified Russians persuaded him to stay.
Moscow didn't ask Maduro not to leave Venezuela - RIA
Lavrov dismissed as untrue on Thursday assertions by US officials that Moscow had urged Maduro not to leave the country amid the continuing unrest there, RIA news agency reported.
Pompeo told broadcaster CNN on Tuesday that Maduro was prepared to leave the country that morning in the face of a call for an uprising by opposition leader Guaido, but reversed his plan after Russia intervened.
Pompeo suggested Maduro had been planning to fly to Cuba, which Maduro himself has since dismissed.
RIA on Thursday also cited Lavrov as saying that Russia and the United States had irreconcilable positions on Venezuela but that they had agreed to continue talks.
Lopez's stay as a guest - Borrell
Spain's acting foreign minister said a Venezuelan anti-government activist has not asked Spanish authorities for political asylum.
Josep Borrell, who is the foreign minister in Spain's caretaker government, said Lopez is staying as a guest at the Spanish embassy in Caracas.
Borrell said on Thursday that, under Spanish law, requests for asylum can be made only in Spain.
He told Spanish media during an official trip to Jordan that Lopez is staying at the embassy until his next steps become clearer.
Spain has in recent years become a destination for thousands of Venezuelans escaping the country's political and economic crisis.
Maduro calls for military unity
President Maduro has called for military unity in an appearance with soldiers at the air base where Guaido called for an uprising two days earlier.
Flanked by commanders, Maduro said on Thursday that the military must be prepared to combat "traitors" and the opposition had sought to provoke bloodshed in Caracas since security forces failed to respond to Guaido's bid to take power.
He spoke from the Carlota air base in the opposition's stronghold of eastern Caracas that was the epicentre of the short-lived uprising.
Guaido, backed by a small contingent of security forces, called for the military to turn against Maduro on Tuesday. But police dispersed the crowds in clashes that raged for hours.
Thousands of Venezuelans heeded the opposition's call to fill streets around the nation a day later.
The streets of the capital were calm on Thursday.
Wednesday, May 1
Opposition supporters clash with armed forces
Clashes broke out between opposition supporters and Venezuela's armed forces in the capital Caracas on Wednesday during May Day protests with opposition leader Guaido attempting to rally demonstrators against Maduro.
National Guard troops fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters attempting to block a highway close to the air base in eastern Caracas where Guaido had tried on Tuesday to spark a military uprising against Maduro.
A second day of confrontations between opposition supporters and Maduro's security services came as the United States said it was prepared to take military action, if necessary, to stem the crisis in the South American nation.
One woman reportedly died after being shot in the head during the protests.
On Tuesday as well, one person was killed and dozens injured, according to human rights monitors.
Thousands gather in rival rallies
Venezuelans braced for another day of upheaval as both the opposition and President Maduro's loyalists vowed to take to the streets, hoping to tip the balance in an agonising power struggle that appeared to grow even more desperate after a so-far unsuccessful attempt to spark a military coup.
Several hundred opposition supporters have gathered in a Caracas neighbourhood, heeding a call by Guaido for more protests a day after his calls for a military uprising fell short.
President Maduro has also called on his supporters to take to the streets, and a large group has already turned out.
Maduro has accused Guaido of trying to stage a coup and said there will be criminal prosecutions.
Russia warns against US 'interference'
Lavrov told Pompeo by phone that further "aggressive steps" in Venezuela would be fraught with the gravest consequences, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
Lavrov also condemned what he called the United States' "interference" in Venezuela's internal affairs as a breach of international law, adding that dialogue between all political forces is required in the Latin American country.
US military action possibility if 'required' – Pompeo
Pompeo said during a television interview on Wednesday that the United States was not ruling out military action to back the coup attempt underway in Venezuela by Guido.
"Military action is possible. If that's what's required, that's what the United States will do," Pompeo said in an interview with Fox Business Network, but added that the United States would prefer a peaceful transition of power in Venezuela.
Pompeo was repeating a statement he made to Fox News on Tuesday calling for President Maduro to leave the country.
"President [Trump] has been consistent and unambiguous about that, that the option to use military force is available if that is what is ultimately called for. We hope it's not. We hope there can be a peaceful resolution and that Maduro will leave without violence."
Tuesday, April 30
Maduro announces 'criminal prosecutions'
Maduro warned Tuesday that those responsible for a military uprising against him would face "criminal prosecutions."
"This will not go unpunished,” Maduro said in an address broadcast on television and the radio.
"I have spoken to the attorney general. I have chosen three prosecutors... who will interrogate all people involved... and they will launch criminal prosecutions for the serious crimes that have been committed against the constitution, the rule of law and the right to peace."
He also denied alleged plans to flee the country.
Call for fresh protests
Guaido called for a fresh round of protests on Wednesday against Maduro, after clashes broke out between security forces and anti-government demonstrators.
“I am calling on the armed forces to continue their march in ‘Operation Freedom.’ Tomorrow, May 1, we will continue... across all of Venezuela, we will be on the streets,” Guaido said in a video message released on social media.
Pompeo says Maduro was ready to leave
Pompeo said on Tuesday that Maduro was ready to leave the country before Russia convinced him to stay.
"It’s been a long time since anyone has seen Maduro. He had an airplane on the tarmac. He was ready to leave this morning, as we understand it, and the Russians indicated he should stay," Pompeo said in an interview with CNN.
"We’ve made clear that all along, Maduro has been surrounded by Cubans and has been supported by Russians there in Venezuela," he added.
TRT World spoke to Miguel Tinker Salas, a professor at California’s Pomona College, who says there is no evidence to back Pompeo’s claim.
Emergency meeting on Venezuela
The Lima Group of mostly Latin American countries will hold an emergency meeting in Lima on Friday to discuss the crisis in Venezuela, Peru’s foreign ministry said.
The move, announced Tuesday, comes following a call from Venezuela’s opposition leader Guaido on the military to help him oust President Maduro that sparked rioting and clashes between protesters and security services.
Dozens injured
At least 69 people were injured in Caracas, two from gunfire, during clashes between demonstrators and security forces, Venezuela’s health services said.
Local press said a third person suffered a gunshot wound while the government claimed a soldier was hit by a bullet during the clashes on Tuesday.
Venezuela FM says Maduro in control
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza has denied there was a military coup attempt under way to oust Maduro and accused Guaido of operating under orders from Washington.
Guaido called for a military uprising and armed factions exchanged gunfire outside a Caracas air base on Tuesday, although the incident fizzled out and did not appear to be part of an immediate attempt by the opposition to take power through military force.
"It is not a coup attempt from the military. This is directly planned in Washington, in the Pentagon and Department of State, and by Bolton,” Arreaza told Reuters in a phone interview from Caracas, referring to US national security adviser Bolton.
"They are leading this coup and giving orders to this man (Juan) Guaido," he said.
Bolton calls on defence chief, key officials to oust Maduro
US National Security Adviser Bolton called on Tuesday on Venezuela's defence chief and other key officials to oust President Maduro, warning them "Your time is up."
Bolton singled out Defence Minister Padrino, Supreme Court chief justice Maikel Moreno and presidential guard commander Ivan Hernandez Dala, saying they had committed to removing Maduro from power.
"And it is time for them now, if the Cubans will let them do it, to fulfill their commitments and it is time for the rest of the military to show what their own families believe ought to happen and that is Maduro needs to go," he told reporters at the White House.
Bolton repeated that message in a Tweet: "Your time is up. This is your last chance. Accept Interim President Guaido's amnesty, protect the Constitution, and remove Maduro, and we will take you off our sanctions list. Stay with Maduro, and go down with the ship."
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