Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro suggested that if the conflict in Venezuela had escalated and turned violent, the United States would use this massacre to launch a military intervention in the South American country.
“The opposition want to lead us to a civil war. I am asking — what would happen if we sent tanks, armored vehicles and specials forces that we have? There would be a slaughter among Venezuelans and Washington would celebrate and order beginning of a military intervention in order to occupy the land of Bolivar”, Maduro said in an address at a Labor Day demonstration in Caracas, as aired by a state-run TV broadcaster.
The president argued that the main goal of the opposition’s coup attempt on Tuesday was to initiate a civil war.
The statement comes two days after the country’s opposition, led by Washington-backed self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, initiated a fresh coup attempt in a bid to ouster Maduro from power. The government, however, subsequently said that the coup attempt had failed.