Soldiers and armored vehicles were seen in Venezuelan capital amid reports of a coup attempt
Heavy gunfire was reported outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on Monday, just days after President Nicolas Maduro was abducted during a US special forces raid.
Videos posted on social media show armed soldiers and armored vehicles outside government buildings.
There are also reports of explosions and the activation of air-defense guns. AFP, citing its sources in Venezuela, said “the situation is under control.”
AFP’s sources added that security forces opened fire in response to unidentified drones flying over Miraflores.
Troops were mobilized after US commandos captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Saturday and transported them to New York, where both were indicted on drug-trafficking charges. Maduro’s close ally, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, was appointed interim president. She condemned the US operation as an “imperialist attack.”
Maduro denied all charges when he was brought before a US judge on Monday, describing himself as “a prisoner of war.” Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said the US had launched “a colonial war” to pillage Venezuela’s natural resources. “Today, it was Venezuela. Tomorrow, it can be any other country that decides to exercise its sovereignty,” he added.
Moscow and Beijing have also condemned the US raid, with Russian UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia calling it “international banditry.”
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