RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Venezuelan Communication Minister Jorge Rodríguez accused Brazil of being behind an attack on a military base in the south of the country, which left one dead and one injured.
On Twitter, Rodríguez said the “criminals were trained in fully identified paramilitary camps in Colombia, and received the cunning collaboration of Jair Bolsonaro’s government.
The deployment of the Venezuelan Armed Forces in the south of the country was invaded in the early hours of this Sunday, December 22nd, by a group of 12 indigenous people led by a defector officer of the Armed Forces.
According to the Venezuelan Defense Ministry, the perpetrators of the attack are oppositional extremists, supported by Brazil. According to the ministry, the invaders took a batch of weapons and a truck from the base, which is in Gran Sabana, Bolívar state, on the border with Brazil.
From there, they attacked two police stations, where they stole more weapons. In the city of Luepa, there were confrontations involving civilians and the military, and the soldier died. The government said six people were arrested and some weapons were recovered: 83 AK-103 rifles, 60 grenades and six boxes of ammunition.
Itamaraty has not spoken
“In this terrorist attack a member of the Army troop died,” said Vladimir Padrino, Defense Minister, on Twitter, without giving details. According to him, after the attack, several military and police units began to pursue the invaders and managed to recover the weapons.
Padrino said that the detainees are providing “information of criminal interest” and that the state security forces are after the other attackers.
According to the digital portal El Pitazo, the assailants, supported by a group of indigenous people, took over 100 rifles.
On December 14, the Maduro government accused two congressmen of planning a coup against dictator Nicolás Maduro, with the alleged complicity of opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who has been recognized as acting president by over 50 countries.
According to Rodríguez, the plan, which included invading two barracks in Sucre state, was part of an alleged conspiracy to take over other detachments in Caracas and other regions.