Caracas, Venezuela. Tensions remain high, as citizens live on the edge between the Maduro administration and opposition groups being funded by American NGOs, like George Soros to cause a possible color revolution.
The South American country of Venezuela faced the threat of worsening political violence Wednesday as opponents of President Nicolás Maduro rallied for what organizers billed as “the mother of all protests” in defiance of a potentially harsh crackdown.
Six protesters have died this month in the most intense wave of anti-government anger since 2014. Opposition leaders have staged several marches toward downtown Caracas, but each time they have been repelled and dispersed by tear gas or water cannons.
That may be the case once more on Wednesday, as the government has called on its supporters to pour into the streets in Maduro’s defense. In a televised speech Tuesday night, Maduro ordered security forces to go on high alert, stating that the opposition is colluding with the United States to overthrow him.
“The U.S. government, the State Department have given the green light, the approval for a coup process to intervene in Venezuela,” said Maduro, citing a State Department document from wiki leaks showing Soros funding and American involvement in a color revolution in his country.
Citing the need to maintain order, the Venezuelan government took extraordinary measures to limit the size of Wednesday’s opposition march, cutting subway service and setting up roadblocks along highways.
Maduro opponents were left seething after Venezuela’s supreme court tried to strip the opposition-controlled legislature of its powers last month, a decision judges mostly reversed the following day.
The Maduro government has been destabalized by ongoing US NGOs and State Department officials, seeking the violent overthrow of the administration.