Protests raged in the streets of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Monday night as citizens gathered in protest of socialist President Nicolas Maduro’s questionable electoral victory. But even as the opposition party claims to have proof of victory in Sunday’s election and citizens tear down statues of late dictator Hugo Chavez, Maduro is holding onto his office, blaming the “extreme right” and the United States for the ongoing violence.
“We’ve seen this movie before,” Maduro said from the presidential palace after ordering security forces to put down the riots. “We have been following all of the acts of violence promoted by the extreme right.”
“I’m getting a video here of the burning of [United Socialist Party of Venezuela] headquarters in Calabozo,” he continued. “This is very typical of what they call ‘Color Revolutions’, designed by the Americans. It’s a script.”
Since protests in Caracas began early on Monday, police have been seen firing tear gas and rubber bullets into the large crowds that have descended on the city. According to some footage circulated on social media, some members of the police and military have been seen retreating or actively supporting the protesters rather than using force against their own people.
Military leadership, however, is standing firmly behind Maduro. Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino described the protests as a “coup” and denounced the protests.
“There is a coup in progress so President Nicolas Maduro has stepped up to stop it again and with him the people who elected him president, all the institutions, the Bolivarian armed forces and the democratic institutions,” Padrino said on state television on Tuesday. “We will defeat the coup.”
Per the latest reports, six protesters and two security officers have been killed, and hundreds have been arrested.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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