For more than three months, the Venezuela opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, has been exhorting the armed forces to join his side in ousting President Nicolás Maduro. On Tuesday Mr. Guaidó made his plea at a military base in the heart of Caracas, the capital, raising speculation that the military might be ready to heed him. Clashes erupted outside the base and elsewhere as Mr. Maduro’s government and his supporters called Mr. Guaidó’s maneuver an attempted coup. Here is how Venezuela, once one of Latin America’s most prosperous countries, has reached this point in an economic and political crisis. Guaidó challenges Maduro’s leadershipJust two weeks after Mr. Maduro was sworn in for a second term in January, Mr. Guaidó declared himself the interim president, directly challenging the country’s leadership.

Source: International New York Times April 30, 2019 17:15 UTC