Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Tuesday he had begun the “final phase” of his plan to oust Nicolas Maduro, the president, calling on Venezuelans and the military to back him to end Maduro’s “usurpation.”
A Reuters journalist later saw security forces firing tear gas at Mr Guaido and around 70 mostly young armed men in military uniform outside the La Carlota air force base in Caracas. Hundreds of civilians also joined the group.
But around two hours after Mr Guaido tweeted his announcement, there was no sign of any other military activity, and the government dismissed any suggestion of an insurrection.
“We reject this coup movement, which aims to fill the country with violence,” said Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.
He said the armed forces remained “firmly in defence of the national constitution and legitimate authorities,” and that all military units across Venezuela “report normality” in their barracks and bases.
The move was Mr Guaido’s boldest effort yet to convince the military to rise up against Mr Maduro. If it fails, it could be seen as evidence that he lacks the support he claims to have.
It might also encourage the authorities, which have already stripped him of parliamentary immunity and opened multiple investigations into him, to arrest him.
The United States is among some 50 countries that recognise Mr Guaido as Venezuela’s president, and has imposed sanctions to try to dislodge Mr Maduro.
Oil prices topped $73, partly driven higher by the uncertainty in Venezuela, an OPEC member whose oil exports have been hit by US sanctions and an economic crisis.
Donald Trump, the US president, “has been briefed and is monitoring the ongoing situation,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.
The White House declined comment on whether the administration had been consulted or had advance knowledge of what Guaido was planning.
A former US official said that while it was unclear whether Mr Guaido’s efforts would touch off a broader military uprising against Mr Maduro, it appeared aimed at building momentum toward Wednesday’s May Day Street protests and making that a turning point.
Venezuelan Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez tweeted that the government was confronting a small group of “military traitors” seeking to promote a coup.
Diosdado Cabello, head of the Constituent Assembly, a legislative body that acts in support of the government, said the opposition had not been able to take over the air base.
He urged Mr Maduro’s backers to rally at the presidential palace in Caracas to support him.
Mr Guaido, in a video posted on his Twitter account, was accompanied by men in military uniform and opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez, who has been placed under house arrest.
“The national armed forces have taken the correct decision, and they are counting on the support of the Venezuelan people,” Mr Guaido said.
Mr Guaido, the leader of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly, in January invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Mr Maduro’s re-election in 2018 was illegitimate.
He has been traveling outside the capital Caracas in recent weeks to try to put pressure on Mr Maduro to step down.
