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US national security adviser urges Venezuela’s military to side with the opposition

So far, Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Syria and Turkey have voiced support for President Nicolas Maduro

WASHINGTON, April 30. /TASS/. US National Security Adviser John Bolton has called on Venezuela’s military to side with the opposition.

"The FANB must protect the Constitution and the Venezuelan people. It should stand by the National Assembly and the legitimate institutions against the usurpation of democracy. The United States stands with the people of Venezuela," he wrote in a Twitter post on Tuesday.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido earlier posted a video on Twitter urging the country’s military to take to the streets "to do away with the usurpation" in the country. According to Guaido, the video was recorded at the Francisco de Miranda Airbase in Caracas.

Guaido, Venezuelan opposition leader and parliament speaker, whose appointment to that position had been cancelled by the country’s Supreme Court, declared himself interim president at a rally in Caracas on January 23. Several countries, including the United States, Lima Group members (excluding Mexico), as well as the Organization of American States, recognized him as president. Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro blasted these actions as an attempted coup and said he was cutting diplomatic ties with the United States.

In contrast, Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Syria and Turkey voiced support for Maduro.