In his boldest effort yet to gain the support of the armed forces, Mr Guaidó appeared early Tuesday morning outside a Caracas air force base with dozens of National Guard members. That triggered a day of violent protests, leaving more than 100 injured but without any concrete signs of defection from the armed forces leadership. “We know that Maduro does not have the backing or the respect of the armed forces,” Mr Guaidó said in a video message posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday evening. While Mr Guaidó earned the backing of the United States and most Western countries, the armed forces have stood by Mr Maduro, who retains the support of allies like Russia, China and Cuba. “Tomorrow, the first of May, we will have a large, millions-strong march of the working class,” Mr Maduro said in a Tuesday night television address.

Source: The Irish Times May 01, 2019 05:15 UTC