Military Coup Attempt Imminent in Venezuela
Both StratFor, a right wing intelligence providing service, and NarcoNews, a left-wing website specializing in South American politics, are predicting a coup attempt in Venezuela real soon now.
First from the lofty, formal StratFor:
A military coup attempt against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is imminent, according to STRATFOR sources in Caracas and the United States. The attempt could be launched within days or even hours.
The Chavez regime already has deployed hundreds of soldiers throughout Caracas. The government also has begun conducting raids on the homes of politicians and military officers suspected of direct involvement in the plot.
Then from the informal, street-level NarcoNews
I’d say that a coup attempt is very likely, a successful coup attempt is very much less likely, but still a possibility. One thing that may affect the coup plotters is that the US ambassador Shapiro indicated, although very gently, that he would prefer that the anti-Chavez groupings work through constitutional means, which most people here interpret as opposition to a coup. Talk is cheap, but people here are very conscious of the US preoccupation with Iraq, and their inability to devote a large amount of attention and support to a possible coup.