Venezuela's attempt at producing a Muammar Qadaffy..., wearing tan military fatigues, attended army exercises, met with troops and watched as tanks fired into a hillside. At the same time, supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido handed out leaflets to soldiers, urging them to reject the socialist leader and explaining how they could be eligible for amnesty if they help return Venezuela to democracy.
"We are waiting for you, the soldiers of Venezuela," Guaido told a news conference, urging the armed forces not to shoot fellow citizens.
Sunday’s dueling appeals to the military followed a tense week as Venezuela took center stage in a global debate over who had a legitimate claim to power in the South American nation.
Maduro broke relations with the United States Wednesday after the Trump administration and many other nations in the region recognized Guaido, the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, as Venezuela’s interim president, a move that Maduro denounced as a coup attempt.