Will Trump’s US try another coup attempt in Venezuela?
Washington backed the effort to overthrow Hugo Chavez in 2002, but appears to be resisting calls to try to oust his successor
In April 2002, Venezuelan president at the time Hugo Chavez was briefly deposed in a coup attempt launched by mutinous army officers. But within 48 hours, Chavez surged back to power with the aid of loyal generals and masses of supporters surrounding the presidential palace where the plotters had taken over.
It emerged that the CIA had knowledge of the plot, despite the George W. Bush administration’s denials. There were documented links between Washington and anti-government figures involved in the botched takeover.
Chavez made hay of those revelations, linking his own ordeal to the wider American legacy of dirty wars, election interference and military interventions.
“Having a government of this type in the United States is a threat to the world,” he declared.
