Coup has been defeated

A recurrent line in the government’s discourse this past two days has been that the “on-going” or evolving coup (golpe de estado continuado) against Maduro has been finally defeated.

In a televised interview Foreign Minister Elias Jaua Declared: “We have to understand the 12 of February as a profound and serious attempt to overthrow, through violence, the government of Nicolás Maduro, and the coup has been defeated, since the beginning. After that, there has been an attempt to prolong violence because of the frustration of those that have not been able to achieve their objectives.”

The President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello also claimed that the coup has been “lost” by the opposition: “You [the opposition] are losing in this the coup d’état of which you have been an accomplice. (…) You need to recognize that the coup d’état has failed, and if you want to talk about democracy, you need to remember that you have participated in a coup.” He added that the links between the opposition leadership and violent groups would soon be made public.

The Venezuelan government has repeatedly claimed that recent protests are part of an on-going coup attempt plotted by local opposition leaders, the United States, and Colombian ex-president Álvaro Uribe. 

The proclamations that the coup has been finally defeated come ahead of an announced meeting between the Foreign Ministers of UNASUR –on their second visit to the country, - the government, and representatives of the opposition, to be held later today in Miraflores.