Video Shows Venezuelan Government Forces Slamming Armored Vehicles Into Protesters

More violence hit Venezuela today following opposition leader Juan Guaidó's calls for the military to abandon the Maduro government.

Protests turned violent today in Venezuela as demonstrators opposed to President Nicholas Maduro clashed with security forces on the streets of Caracas. A brutal video obtained by multiple news organizations shows an armored police vehicle plowing into a crowd of opposition protesters, hitting several, and spraying others with water cannons.

Warning: the below footage depicts graphic violence.

Today's protests follow a call earlier this morning for a military uprising from opposition leader Juan Guiadó, who released a three-minute video from a Caracas airbase, declaring that "the moment is now" and that soldiers who joined the opposition would be acting to protect the Venezuelan Constitution.

Venezuela's socialist government dismissed the street protests as a coup attempt hatched by right-wing "traitors," calling on Maduro supporters to rally at the presidential palace. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza called out the U.S. government for instigating the violence, saying via Twitter that "the heads of the coup d'état admit their responsibility without scruples. The Trump administration, in its despair, attempts to spark an internal conflict in Venezuela. Venezuela's democratic institutions guarantee peace in the country."

The Trump administration has not been shy about endorsing the opposition protesters.

"The U.S. Government fully supports the Venezuelan people in their quest for freedom and democracy. Democracy cannot be defeated," tweeted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Today interim President Juan Guaido announced start of Operación Libertad. The U.S. Government fully supports the Venezuelan people in their quest for freedom and democracy. Democracy cannot be defeated. #EstamosUnidosVE

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) April 30, 2019

"To Juan Guaidó, the National Assembly and all the freedom-loving people of Venezuela who are taking to the streets today in #operacionlibertad—Estamos con ustedes! We are with you! America will stand with you until freedom & democracy are restored," tweeted Vice President Mike Pence.

To @jguaido, the National Assembly and all the freedom-loving people of Venezuela who are taking to the streets today in #operacionlibertad—Estamos con ustedes! We are with you! America will stand with you until freedom & democracy are restored. Vayan con dios! #FreeVenezuela

— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) April 30, 2019

In February, President Trump called for the Venezuelan military to abandon Maduro and support the Guiadó-led opposition.

Carlos Vecchio, the Venezuelan opposition's envoy to Washington, said in a news conference earlier today that the U.S. played no role in coordinating today's protests.

It's currently unclear how many people have been injured as a result of today's demonstrations. Despite Guiadó's calls for a military uprising, and Maduro's denunciation of the "coup" attempt, it's also not clear how much military-backing the protesters are receiving.

According to the Associated Press, "demonstrators have been clashing with pro-Maduro troops, but the revolt so far seems to have only limited military backing."

Comments

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Nah, I heard from a Vice News reporter that all the violence was instigated by the protesters.

[SIV]

Moynihan?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

No, some tween making the rounds. She's popped up on Joe Rogan and Jimmy Dore.

[Zeb]

The military really had no choice but to ram vehicles into them.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

It's not easy being in an armored vehicle, surrounded by soft targets.

Pro tip to the soft targets: Molotov cocktails. Lots of molotov cocktails.

[Zeb]

Assuming they can spare the gasoline.

[mad.casual]

Pro tip to the soft targets: Molotov cocktails. Lots of molotov cocktails.

Some molotov cocktails and a couple rows of czech hedgehogs or dragon's teeth and suddenly it's a fair fight.

[Uncle Jay]

"Video Shows Venezuelan Government Forces Slamming Armored Vehicles Into Protesters."

As well the Venezuelan government forces should!
Don't these foolish people know they're living in a proletariat paradise?
A good ramming will get their heads straight.

[mad.casual]

Next thing you know somebody will be suggesting that they use actual grease to lubricate the axles of their armored vehicles like some bourgeois pig!

[Agammamon]

slamming into

You mean 'running over'?

[mad.casual]

'Slamming armored vehicles into protesters' is accurate. Somewhere between the slamming into and running over, you tend to stop protesting. Some more transiently than others.

[some guy]

Some were slammed into. Some were run over. Some both.

[colorblindkid]

What's hilarious is that the "opposition" leading the charge against Maduro is comprised entirely of leftists and socialists themselves. All of the American lefties calling it a coup and supporting Maduro are dangerous actually-communist morons.

[Paloma]

They are center left to center right. Guaido is center left. Maria Corina Machado is center right.
They are being painted as right wing extremists which should tell you a lot about the leanings of journalists who pretend to be neutral.

[Ordinary Person]

Some lady from Obama's state department said on NPR that it wasn't a coup. That Maduro had rigged the election and that this effort was underway so that there can be new fair elections.

[Longtobefree]

Who else but a right wing extremist would expect the results of an election to actually determine who gets to lead a country?
Refer to the USA in 2016.
#resist

[Paloma]

And all the American lefties should keep their stupid mouths shut because they don't know what they're talking about.

[Paloma]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Hausmann

The "neoliberal" guy Juan Guaido has tapped as his economic advisor. Not exactly Chicago School, but hardly a socialist.

[SIV]

Trigger Warning: the below footage depicts graphic violence.

[Dillinger]

armored vehicles is totes cheating. love how they torched the one.

[some guy]

You use Molotov cocktail.
It has no effect.

[spork]

Democracy my ass. As Styx points out, Guaidó is a socialist, too.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

As Styx points out, Guaidó is a socialistBlue Collar Man, too.

Just rockin' the socialist paradise.

[Zeb]

Well, who isn't these days? As long as he understands that you need a lot of capitalism going on to support your "democratic socialism", he'll be a hell of a lot better than Maduro.

[mad.casual]

Guaidó is a socialist, too.

OK, they're both socialists. What's your solution? Install a capitalist? Root for the socialist who's military is running people over in the streets in broad daylight?

[Placeholder Name]

I'll take "reasons why I need a thirty-round magazine" for $1,000, Alex

[ThomasD]

And steel core ammo...

[SIV]

I'd feel "safer" with belt fed

[mad.casual]

Unless you've named your belt-fed machine gun "Peaceful Democratic Transition", standing in the middle of a 4-lane highway with a belt fed machine gun doesn't quite carry the message of peaceful democratic transition.

[Marshal]

"Government is just a word for the things we choose to do together."

[Unicorn Abattoir]

People complain about how oppressive the Venezuelan government, but they were nice enough to run people down with light armor instead of T-72s.

Enslaving the masses is a thankless job.

[some guy]

It would be harder to run over people in a T-72 due to reduced visibility. They really did pick the right tool for this tankless job.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

I see what you did there...

[DenverJ]

Not sure that I understand the plan, here. Driving around in circles seems like bad tactics.

[some guy]

I'm guessing a True Believer got mad about the protest.

[Blowhard Woodchip]

Video Shows Venezuelan Government Forces Slamming Armored Vehicles Into Protesters...

...gives Stephen Miller ideas, who shares them with Sarah Sanders, who creams her jeans at the prospect of using the military to silence her critics. Then she wakes up and remembers who she works for, then counts the days before her Fox News interview.

[Ken Shultz]

"Today's protests follow a call earlier this morning for a military uprising from opposition leader Juan Guiadó, who released a three-minute video from a Caracas airbase, declaring that "the moment is now" and that soldiers who joined the opposition would be acting to protect the Venezuelan Constitution."

Maduro is fighting for his life, here, and I have to admit, his head would look fantastic up on a pike where it belongs. Revolutions are a messy business, and here's to hoping the people of Venezuela free themselves from this authoritarian socialist. When they do, don't be surprised if the "good guys" start in with atrocities of their own. Oh, and don't be surprised when Maduro's opposition turns out to be socialists, too, since, you know, that's what they are.

[some guy]

There's always a chance the opposition could turn out better. Little chance it could turn out much worse. I mean, people are starving down there. Hopefully Guaido is at least smart enough to realize that he needs some market capitalism to feed his socialist machine. Otherwise, they'll be right back here again in a decade or so.

[Zeb]

If he's at all honest about his intentions, it would be pretty hard to be worse than Maduro and Chavez.
If he's the kind of "socialist" that understands that capitalism is where wealth is generated, then it could be much better.

[Paloma]

Look up Ricardo Hausmann, who Guaido is looking to be his economic advisor. He is being derided as "neoliberal", which may be a good thing.

[Paloma]

A bit more complicated than that, Ken.

[Ken Shultz]

More complicated than that the opposition is also socialist?

Okay. But it's more complicated than a bunch of capitalist Venezuelans sticking it to the socialists, too. I hope the people of Venezuela free themselves from this vicious dictator, and I hope they realize that the problem wasn't the people driving the socialist bus but the fact that the socialist bus they jumped on was hopelessly broken before they ever jumped on it.

I maintain that wrecking an economy with socialism cannot be maintained by democratic means. Once Cuba decided to go socialist, all their other choices were mostly made for them. That the same thing would happen in Venezuela wasn't only foreseeable. It was also foreseen.

I hope the Venezuelan people don't come out the other end of this believing that the problem with socialism was that they had the wrong people in charge.

[Paloma]

I don't think any of the opposition leaders call themselves socialists. They do run a spectrum of political beliefs. This is one of the reasons it took so long to unite against Chavismo. Meanwhile, the ordinary Venezuelan on the street has developed a sheer hatred of communism.
And if you've noticed, Latin America itself has taken a sharp turn to the right in the past few years. Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, which surround Venezuela, have kicked out their former corrupt commie leaders. Kirschner, Lula, Rousseff, all former buddies of Chavez, are all in jail. Evo Morales seems to be holding on, but Rafael Correa, Chavez' former buddy is gone.

[Longtobefree]

Somehow, elected socialists are preferred to socialists who maintain power by force of arms.
See USA 2008, 2012.
You know who else was an elected socialist.

[Paloma]

Somehow elected socialists get to be elected by jailing anyone running against them. Or monitoring the voting machines. Or not recognizing results that they don't like.
These elections are known as "illegitimate" when done by those on the right. But The People have spoken when done by socialists.

[Let freedom ring]

I'm a libertarian. Madura is a socialist. So what? Maduro was elected by the people of Venezuela. The Guaidos are descendents of the Spanish Ruling Class. The Chavinistas are mestizos and black. the US wants the oil. The Chinese want the business. The Russians want international law. All in all, I am for Maduro. Don't care if capitalism is more efficient, let them learn that peacefully. They are not starving, but they are not fat either (although some in the videos look well nourished). It is not our fight. It is their fight. Keep Bolton and Pompeo and Abrams and Freeland (Canada) on a tight leash.

[Paloma]

You're kidding, right? Or maybe just really really drunk.

[ThomasD]

"I’m a libertarian... ... The Guaidos are descendents of the Spanish Ruling Class..."

Since when does a libertarian give to shits about someone's ancestry?

Rare to see someone so blatantly refute himself in one breath.

[Paloma]

Juan Guaido is from the state of Vargas, a place that has always been solidly in the Chavista camp, until now. His parents were school teachers. It would be nice if people knew something about what they are talking.

[ThomasD]

Thanks for that bit of factual information.

Sadly, it does not matter whether LFR was correct or incorrect, he still thinks it somehow matters.

He calls himself a libertarian but, with his stated concerns over which aristocracy he privileges, he's marked himself as a progressive.

[Bender B. Rodriguez]

People of Venezuela, estámos con ustedes.

Win your country back from the brutal dictators who control your press, your marketplaces, and your livelihoods.

[EricaEmory247]

May be this will be best things

[Nardz]

And Guaido again fails to accomplish anything.
It's almost like he has minimal popular support...

[Paloma]

He has minimal bayonets and tanks.

You can get more with a kind word and a tank than just a kind word.

[Nardz]

True.
Doesn't give me any more faith in Guaido.
Dude is a joke.
Here's hoping the Venezuelans get a real leader sometime soon.