On 30 April 2019, during the Venezuelan presidential crisis, a group of several dozen military personnel and civilians joined Juan Guaidó in his call for the removal of Nicolás Maduro as part of what he labeled "Operation Freedom" (Spanish: Operación Libertad). Reuters reported an "uneasy peace" by the afternoon of 30 April. During the unrest, opposition leader Leopoldo López was freed from house arrest after being imprisoned for five years. Manuel Cristopher Figuera, the head of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, denounced the Maduro government and was dismissed from his position before going into hiding. At least 25 military men who opposed Maduro sought asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.
In a joint statement, the Lima Group shared support for Guaidó and called for Maduro's exit. Maduro, along with some academics and media outlets, described the actions of Guaidó and his allies as an attempted coup d'état, while other media organizations described the actions as an uprising. Maduro expelled 54 members from the military and the head of intelligence who publicly backed Guaidó. Guaidó's efforts to persuade senior military officials to join his movement failed, with Guaidó stating that going forward, protests would be held every day until Maduro stepped down from power. Guaidó called for his supporters and the country's armed forces to take to the streets again the following day.
By May 2nd, four people were killed in the ensuing clashes between opposition protesters and militants on one side, and pro-government protesters and the Venezuelan armed forces on the other. Some National Assembly members had their immunity lifted and were indicted afterwards; several of those indicted, while others went into hiding. Additionally, the National Assembly vice-president Edgar Zambrano was later arrested.
Background
A power struggle concerning who is the legitimate President of Venezuela began on 10 January 2019, when the opposition-majority National Assembly declared that incumbent Nicolás Maduro's 2018 re-election was invalid; that the office of the President of Venezuela was therefore vacant; and declared its president, Juan Guaidó, to be acting president of the nation. As of May 2019, Guaidó has been recognized as the interim president of Venezuela by 54 countries, including the United States and most nations of Latin America and Europe. Internationally, support has followed usual geopolitical lines: Russia, China, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and Cuba support Maduro, while the United States, Canada, and most of Europe and Latin America support Guaidó as interim president.
The process and results of the May 2018 Venezuelan presidential election were widely disputed. The National Assembly declared Maduro illegitimate on the day of his second inauguration, citing the 1999 Constitution of Venezuela enacted under Hugo Chávez, Maduro's predecessor; in response, the pro-Maduro Supreme Tribunal of Justice said the National Assembly's declaration was unconstitutional. Minutes after Maduro took the oath as president of Venezuela on 10 January 2019, the Organization of American States (OAS) approved a resolution in a special session of its Permanent Council declaring Maduro's presidency illegitimate and urging new elections. Special meetings of the OAS on 24 January and in the United Nations Security Council on 26 January were held but no consensus was reached. Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres called for dialogue.
Maduro's government states that the crisis is a "coup d'état led by the United States to topple him and control the country's oil reserves". Guaidó denies the coup allegations, saying peaceful volunteers back his movement.
On 21 January 2019, a small-scale attempted military mutiny occurred in the Cotiza neighborhood, Caracas, where 27 military officials kidnapped security and stole weapons, trying to march on Miraflores, who fought against and were apprehended by authorities in the early hours. People in the local area continued the fight, protesting and burning things in the street even as tear gas was deployed.
Guaidó announced on 16 March 2019 that he would embark on a tour of the country to organize committees for what he called "Operation Freedom" with the goal to claim the presidential residence, Miraflores Palace. From the first rally in Carabobo state, he said, "We will be in each state of Venezuela and for each state we have visited the responsibility will be yours, the leaders, the united, [to] organize ourselves in freedom commands."
In an open assembly celebrating the anniversary of the 19 April 1810 date when the Venezuelan Independence Movement began, Guaidó offered the example that organized protests in Sudan led to the replacement of Omar al-Bashir, and called for "the greatest march" in history on 1 May, to "once and for all end this tragedy". Coinciding with his speech, NetBlocks stated that state-run CANTV again blocked access to social media in Venezuela.
United States National Security Adviser John R. Bolton indicated in a press conference that Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, Supreme Court president Maikel Moreno, and the head of Maduro's Presidential Guard, Iván Hernández Dala had been talking with the opposition over the last three months about a peaceful transition, and had agreed that Maduro needed to go.
Juan Forero reported that more than a dozen sources close to the negotiations told The Wall Street Journal that meetings between key opposition figures and Maduro government officials had taken place in Panama, the Dominican Republic and Colombia for two months, "trying to cut a deal for a peaceful transfer of power" that was not to be accomplished via a military coup, "but rather through a court ruling that would permit the military to step away from Mr. Maduro and put the country on a path back to democracy". According to The Wall Street Journal, the Supreme Court, of which Moreno is the highest official, "was to recognize the opposition-controlled National Assembly, the last democratically elected body in Venezuela, as the legitimate representative of the Venezuelan people. The armed forces would then have legal grounds to abandon Mr. Maduro. The defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, and others who were negotiating with the opposition, would join the new government." When Leopoldo López and Guaidó called for an uprising a day early, support was withdrawn for unclear reasons; Forero writes, "It isn't known whether they [pulled out of the pact] because counterintelligence agents had discovered the plot or because key actors on the government side never had any intention of pulling their support for Mr. Maduro."
Anthony Faiola reports a similar account in The Washington Post, based on extensive interviews with three unnamed sources, who indicated that "the plotters were counting on Moreno to provide a vital lever to sway the military to their cause: a legal ruling that would have effectively acknowledged Guaidó as interim president and led to new elections". The Washington Post says it saw the draft ruling which was to be issued on 29 April by the Supreme Court; the ruling would withdraw recognition of the pro-Maduro Constituent National Assembly, reinstate the opposition-majority National Assembly ("widely recognized internationally as Venezuela's only democratic institution"), call for elections, and make provisions for political prisoners. With the Supreme Court issuing this ruling, the armed forces would have a legal basis to "force Maduro to step down without a single bullet being fired", in a "sequenced chain of official statements" that was not meant to be a coup. According to the sources, Moreno suggested that he be the person to replace Maduro, and inquired about security for himself and his family. Manuel Cristopher Figuera, the Director General of Venezuela's National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), supplied information, according to this account, at 1 am on 30 April that he was to be replaced as head of SEBIN, Leopoldo López was to be sent back to prison, and the "government was preparing to take unspecified action against Guaidó and other senior opposition leaders". The opposition decided to act on 30 April instead of 1 May.
Venezuelan investigative journal Armando.Info and The Wall Street Journal reported that Venezuelan businessman Raúl Gorrín was involved in the plot for his close connection to Moreno, Padrino López and counter-intelligence chief Iván Hernández. After the events of 30 April, Christopher Figuera fled to the US and declared in an interview with The Washington Post, that Gorrín was the one that approached US authorities with the plan in order to have the sanctions on him lifted. César Omaña, another Venezuelan businessman living in Miami, was the one that contacted Cristopher Figuera to recruit him, according to the interview. Omaña has not been sanctioned and had close ties with Hugo Chávez daughters and senior Maduro officials. Omaña and Christopher Figuera started a series of negotiations, parallel to Gorrín's plan to convince Moreno. Moreno had demanded ten million dollars, to secure his position in the Supreme Court, and a safety net for himself. The plotters carried code names, Christopher Figuera was "Black Panther", Omaña was "Superman" and Mauricio Claver-Carone, the U.S. National Security Council's director for Latin American policy, was "Child eater" (Spanish: Comeniños), according to the interview. Opposition officials said that the plan was moved from 1 May to 30 April because Guaidó might be arrested, Christopher Figuera denies it. Christopher Figuera claims that he was the one who accelerated the timetable to avoid a large scale attack of paramilitary forces (colectivos) that was prepared for the 1st May. According to Christopher Figuera, Padrino López was against moving forward the date. Maduro, Moreno and Padrino López have denied publicly their role in the plot.
After Leopoldo López left Venezuela in October 2020, he reaffirmed Maikel Moreno's involvement in the operation.
Events
Release of López and call for uprising
At 2:00 am VET, lieutenant colonel Illich Sánchez of the Bolivarian National Guard, gathered his troops, stating "When I gathered my troops ... and told them we were going to liberate Venezuela they broke down in tears". Sánchez was the commander of 500 troops throughout Caracas who were tasked with protecting government buildings such as Miraflores Palace, and the Palacio Federal Legislativo. Dozens of troops would later report that they were "tricked" by an officer to participate in Guaidó's effort. Shortly after, Sánchez's troops freed opposition leader Leopoldo López — Guaidó's mentor and Venezuela's "most prominent opposition activist", according to the Associated Press — who had been under house arrest since 2014.
At approximately 5:00 am, large vehicles accompanied by members of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela blocked portions of the Francisco Fajardo Highway. At 5:46 am VET, Guaidó live-streamed a video on Periscope of himself beside López, with the two flanked by members of the Venezuelan armed forces from the Altamira Overpass, near La Carlota Air Force Base in Caracas. Guaidó titled the initiative "Operation Freedom", and stated: "People of Venezuela, it is necessary that we go out together to the street, to support the democratic forces and to recover our freedom. Organized and together, mobilize the main military units. People of Caracas, all to La Carlota".
López, his wife Lilian Tintori and their daughter would later enter the Chilean embassy in Caracas, and move again to the Spanish embassy for protection.
After Guaidó's announcement, NetBlocks reported that multiple social media and news websites were censored by the state-run CANTV internet provider. The internet outage was similar to the regular disruptions that have occurred in other important political conflicts in 2019. The signal of BBC World News and CNN would also be taken off the air, and the local radio station Radio Caracas Radio was broken into and shut down by the telecommunications authority.
Clashes
Minister of Information Jorge Rodríguez released a statement by 6:30 am that the Maduro government was beginning to disperse forces loyal to Guaidó. At the same time, access to Miraflores Palace was barricaded, and forces loyal to Maduro took up positions in the surrounding area. Military forces loyal to Guaidó outfitted their uniforms with blue cloth.
At 6:44 am, tear gas fired from troops within La Carlota Air Force Base dispersed some forces loyal to Guaidó near the facility. Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, called for supporters to gather at Miraflores Palace to defend Maduro.
Guaidó left the area near La Carlota around 8:00 am, leading a march heading west. Valentín Santana, leader of La Piedrita colectivo, stated at 8:30 am that "it was time to defend the revolution with weapons", calling for support of Maduro. At approximately 8:39 am, heavy gunfire erupted as pro-Maduro armed colectivos fired rounds while riding motorbikes near La Carlota.
Pro-Guaidó protesters attempted to enter the main gate of La Carlota at 9:10 am. The Caracas Metro ceased operations at 9:15 am citing security reasons. Forces loyal to Maduro dispersed protesters from the gates of La Carlota at 9:43 am.