In a televised broadcast featuring President of the National Assembly Diosdado Cabello along with the Caracas Municipal City Mayor Jorge Rodríguez, revealed further details regarding the failed coup attempt, which lead to the arrest of several military officers as well as confessions linking political opposition leaders to the plot. Rodriguez pointed out that Julio Borges, President of the right-wing Justice First party, has been implicated as one of the key masterminds behind the plot, adding that this had been confirmed through the confession of various individuals involved in the plans to topple the democratically-elected government of President Nicolas Maduro. Read our special feature Venezuela Coup Thwarted and our in-depth coverage on the wider War on Venezuela's Democracy "Many of the individuals being charged, included a military general - who has confessed to participating in the plans- and a retired lieutenant colonel - have indicated you [Julio Borges] as being a key participant in meetings, which resulted in the decision to carry out a series of bombing attacks as a part of the coup, targeting the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly, and the teleSUR offices.” Venezuelan authorities have identified a list of individuals U.S. from the United States embassy in Caracas who provided visas to the individuals involved in the attempt, Cabello stated during the televised broadcast. Similarly, Rodriguez also issued harsh condemnation towards the U.S. stating that he has viewed the paper work to grant political asylum to those involved in the coup was already underway in the event that the plot failed. The foiled coup was planned to coincide with Feb. 12, the one-year anniversary of violent anti-government protests organized by Venezuela's right-wing extremists, Venezuelan authorities said. Source URL |
