CARACAS, April 30. /TASS/. Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday declared the military remained loyal to the authorities and called on the people to brace up and stay on guard to prevent a government coup.
"You must have nerves of steel! I’ve talked to the commanders of all of the country’s forces. They vowed firm loyalty to the people, the Constitution and the nation. I am calling for the maximum mobilization of the people to ensure the victory of peace. We shall win!" Maduro tweeted. Earlier, the head of Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, called upon the supporters of the current authorities to take to the streets in Caracas to demonstrate support for the president.
Venezuelan opposition figurehead Juan Guaido on Tuesday tweeted a video with a call on the country’s military to take to the streets to put an end to "usurpation." He claimed that the message had been recorded at the Francisco de Miranda airbase in Caracas. The video showed Guaido, a group of army officers and the leader of the opposition party Popular Will, Leopoldo Lopez, who is currently under house arrest. According to later reports tear gas had been fired near the road leading to the airbase.
On January 23, Guaido, whose appointment as the speaker of parliament two days later was annulled by the Supreme Court, proclaimed himself as acting president. The United States hurried to recognize him as interim head of state later in the day. The Lima Group of countries (except Mexico), the Organization of American States and a number of other countries followed suit.
The legitimate president, Nicolas Maduro, slammed the events as a government coup attempt and severed diplomatic relations with the United States.
Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Syria and Turkey came out in Maduro’s support.