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VENEZUELA COUP
Venezuela crisis latest: Reports of gunfire in city of Valencia during ‘military uprising’
Arrests have been made after one official reported a 'terrorist attack' at a government-controlled military base
GUNFIRE has been reported at a military base in the city of Valencia, Venezuela, and several arrests have been made after government troops 'put down' a military uprising.
Dramatic footage taken from the area shows a convoy of police trucks speeding down a road as gunshots sound in all directions.
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Another circulating clip shows men brandishing assault rifles and wearing military uniforms as they announce the launch of the coup against unpopular president Nicolas Maduro to 'restore democracy in the country'.
The Socialist Party's deputy, Diosdado Cabello, reported a "terrorist attack", and a witness in Valencia, roughly two hours from the capital of Caracas, said she heard shooting overnight.
Troops were quick to respond and bring the situation under control at the government-held Fuerte Paramacay base, in the central city, Mr Cabello tweeted.
The 'coup' came after a group calling themselves the 41st Brigade released a video declaring themselves in rebellion in Carabobo state, where Valencia is located.
Speaking to camera, a man identifying himself as Captain Juan Caguaripano said any unit refusing to go along with its call for rebellion would be declared a military target.
"This is not a coup d'etat. This is a military and civic action to re-establish constitutional order. But more than that, it is to save the country from total destruction," he said.
Government allies were quick to denounce the uprising as a right-wing plot to bring down the "Bolivarian revolution", started almost 20 years ago by Hugo Chavez.
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Socialist Party official Elias Jaua said in a tweet: "These attacks, planned by delirious minds in Miami, only strengthen the morale of our armed forces and the Bolivarian people."
For months Venezuela has been embroiled in violence and political crisis, leaving more than 100 dead, nearly 2,000 wounded and over 500 detained.
The chaos came days after the South American nation's president was internationally condemned for staging a constitutional power grab.
Maduro's new 'constituent assembly' has seen the removal of the country's chief prosecutor and night raids on oppositions leaders to haul them to prison.
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