On January 22, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence released a video in support of the Venezuelan protesters, calling Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a “dictator” who had allegedly never won a free and fair election.

Pence called for the country’s people to “make your voices heard” against the Venezuelan leader, whom he called a “dictator with no legitimate claim to power.” The Pence video, posted Tuesday morning on social media, begins with the greeting, “Hola, I’m Mike Pence” and concludes with “Vayan con Dios!” or “Go with God.”

In the message, delivered mostly in English with Spanish subtitles, Pence calls Guaido, the newly sworn-in head of the National Assembly, “courageous” and says the assembly is “the last vestige of democracy in your country.”

“As you make your voices heard tomorrow, on behalf of the American people, we say to all the good people of Venezuela, ‘Estamos con ustedes,’ we are with you.” Pence said he delivered the message on behalf of US President Donald Trump and the American people. Trump makes no appearance in the video whatsoever.

This follows the early hours of January 20, when a Venezuelan  National Guard Unit attempted a mutiny in a poor neighborhood a few kilometers from the Venezuelan Presidential palace.

A video was published on Twitter, address to the “glorious Venezuelan people,” calling for them to go on the streets and support a man who identifies himself as 3Sgt Alexander Bandres Figueroa.

https://twitter.com/soldadoDfranela/status/1087291673447727104

Another video was published showing a group of armed, uniformed men promising to “re-establish constitutional order.”

https://twitter.com/luisgonzaloprz/status/1087288198798196736

This triggered protests in the same neighborhood, which were dispersed with tear gas as residents set fire to a street barricade of trash and chanted demands that President Nicolas Maduro leaves power.

The armed forces in a statement said that it had captured all those involved in what it described as “treasonous” acts motivated by “obscure interests tied to the far right.”

In the wake of the defeated military revolt, opposition leaders are now calling for mass protests in the coming days. Specifically, opposition leaders in the legislature have called for nation-wide protests to be held on January 23rdfollowing the government-stacked Supreme Court declaring it would throw out recent measures by the National Assembly that declared Maduro’s presidency illegitimate.

After January 20th’s failed military coup, US Senator Marco Rubio tweeted in support of the action and called for more similar actions.

Rubio claimed military forces have been deployed to the streets amidst protests and internet access had been cut across parts of the country.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in an interview with Democracy Now! condemned the US and Brazil-backed effort to oust Maduro. He further said that

Nothing that the opposition does is without the permission or authorization of the State Department… They say, ‘We have to make consultations with the embassy. We have to make consultations with the Dept of State.’”

Most MSM haven circulating a promise of massive protests on January 23rd, if those protests will come to fruition is yet to be seen.

Top Photo | Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a reception for the Organization of American States in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Monday, June 4, 2018, as the Trump administration renewed its call Monday for the Organization of American States to suspend Venezuela and for other members to step up pressure on the country’s government to restore constitutional order. Andrew Harnik | AP

Source | SouthFront

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