Failed Coup Attempt in Venezuela

Bloomberg has the scoop of a failed coup attempt in Venezuela. High level military officials were involved in the plot, which was discovered and squashed.

The plot, code-named Operation Constitution, involved scores of captains, colonels, and generals from all four branches of Venezuela’s armed forces. The goal was straightforward and seismic—to capture President Nicolás Maduro and put him on trial. The plotters, wearing blue armbands marked OC, were supposed to storm the presidential palace and main military base and stop the May 20 presidential election. Some of the planning took place in Bogotá, but Colombian and U.S. officials, who allegedly knew about the plot and winked from the sidelines, declined to provide active support. 

Then something went wrong. In mid-May, several dozen servicemen, including one woman, as well as a couple of civilians, were secretly arrested—some have been accused of treason—and imprisoned by a military court. Many say they’ve been tortured.

From the outside, this is hard to evaluate. It could mean Maduro has strengthened his hold on the military. On the other hand, there was an abortive coup in June 1973 in Chile before the one that worked. We just have no way of knowing what lessons other potential coup plotters have taken from this situation.

But this is where the future lies. In both Nicaragua and Venezuela, unpopular governments are facing intense pressures that they can withstand because they have the military as a backbone. Once that is gone, so are they.