-February 20, 2019/ world news
Venezuela’s military said on Tuesday that the force is on wary and at its frontiers following threats by US President, Donald Trump and suspended air and sea links with the island of Curacao ahead of a planned aid shipment. Venezuela’s Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino (centre) was quoted to would have said that the military will block US aid invasion and opposition leader, Juan Guaido, self-declared interim president of Venezuela, and who has vowed to bring in aid from various points come Saturday, 23 of February despite the military efforts to block all effort of Guaido. Mr. Guaido strongly believed that he is the authentic leader who won the country’s election and had vowed to fight till the end.
As the situation continues, commanders doubled down on their allegiance to President Nicolas Maduro. This was after President Trump advised the military to abandon him.
However, the military in a press release reads “The armed forces will remain deployed and on alert along the borders… to avoid any violations of territorial integrity,” said Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.
In same way, Regional commander, Vladimir Quintero later confirmed media reports that Venezuela had ordered the suspension of air and sea links with Curacao and the nearby Netherlands Antilles islands of Aruba and Bonaire. Shipments of food and medicine for Venezuelans suffering in the country’s economic crisis have become a focus of the power struggle between Maduro and Guaido. Venezuela: Spain, Germany, France give Maduro ultimatum Aid is being stored in Colombia near the Venezuelan border and Guaido aims also to bring in consignments via Brazil and Curacao, which is off the coast of Venezuela.
A Brazilian presidential spokesman said the country was cooperating with the United States to supply aid to Venezuela but would leave it to Venezuelans to take the goods over the border. Maduro says the aid plan is a smokescreen for a US invasion. He blames US sanctions and “economic war” for Venezuela’s crisis. Guaido, the 35-year-old leader of the Venezuelan legislature, has appealed to military leaders to switch allegiance to him and let the aid through. He has offered military commanders an amnesty if they abandon Maduro. But the military high command has so far maintained its public backing for Maduro — seen as key to keeping him in power.
“We reiterate unrestrictedly our obedience, subordination and loyalty” to Maduro, Padrino said. Guaido posted a series of tweets calling by name on senior military leaders commanding border posts to abandon Maduro. He has branded Maduro illegitimate, saying the elections that returned the socialist leader to power last year were fixed. The United States and some 50 other countries back Guaido as interim president. Trump has refused to rule out US military action in Venezuela. He raised the pressure on Monday, issuing a warning to the Venezuelan military. He told them that if they continue to support Maduro, “you will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You will lose everything.” Padrino rejected Trump’s threat, branding the US president “arrogant.” If foreign powers try to help install a new government by force, they will have to do so “over our dead bodies,” Padrino said. Venezuela’s deputy military attache at the UN announced Tuesday he was siding with Guaido. “I declare myself to be in total and absolute disobedience to the illegally constituted government of Mr. Nicolas Maduro,” Colonel Pedro Jose Chirinos said in a video posted on social media. Since Guaido declared himself interim president on January 23, he has received the support of an army colonel and an air force general, neither of whom actually have any troops under their command, a retired air force major general and a number of lower-level officers.
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