Columbia, Peru and Brazil on Tuesday came out in support of the military uprising in Venezuela against President Nicolas Maduro spearheaded by opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
Shortly after opposition forces began a military operation to overthrow Maduro, Venezuela’s neighbors endorsed Guaidó and his supporters, and called for a meeting to address the military uprising.
“We fully support the interim President [Guaidó] in his struggle to restore democracy in Venezuela. The usurping and dictatorial regime of Maduro must come to an end,” Peru’s chancellor wrote in a Tuesday tweet.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro endorsed the effort to restore democracy Tuesday, writing on Twitter, “Brazil is alongside the people of Venezuela, President Juan Guaidó and the freedom of Venezuelans.”
Columbia’s Foreign Minister, Carlos Holmes Trujillo, called for an emergency meeting to reach an agreement on how to best support Guaidó’s forces. “I call on all the member countries of the Lima group to continue our task of supporting the return of democracy and freedom to Venezuela and to define in common agreement an emergency meeting,” Trujillo tweeted late Tuesday morning.
European Parliament President Antonio Tajani also backed the Guaidó uprising, saying it “marks a historic moment for the return to democracy and freedom in Venezuela, which the European Parliament has always supported,” in a tweet.
Troops loyal to Guaidó wore blue bandanas and shot tear gas early Tuesday from inside the Carlota air base, an air force installation in the city of Caracas, The Associated Press reported. Armed national guardsmen and armored vehicles back Guaidó, in addition to hundreds of military members that flipped loyalties to support Guaidó.
Hundreds of Venezuelan citizens gathered near the Carlota air base Tuesday morning to support the uprising that continues to escalate into what could become a full-blown military and civilian operation to overthrow Maduro.
America’s leaders, including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, also came out in support of the uprising. National Security Adviser John Bolton and Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan also tweeted out support Tuesday.
Russia has long backed Maduro and came out against the opposition uprising. “The radical opposition in Venezuela has once again returned to violent methods of confrontation,” its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Tuesday statement, according to Reuters.
“Instead of peacefully settling political differences, they have taken a course designed to whip up conflict, and provoke breaches of public order and clashes involving the armed forces,” the ministry said.
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