Page 64 - Bloomberg Businessweek July 2018

◼ POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek July 2, 2018

key assertion is undisputed: In May high-ranking lieutenants began. In March, Rodríguez Torres and
officers from all four branches of the security ser- some armored battalion commanders were arrested
vices attempted an insurrection. But those inter- for attempted insurrection. He remains in prison.
viewed reject the most dramatic claims, including The biggest set of arrests took place around the
that the U.S. and Colombian governments provided time of Maduro’s reelection. Participants and their
financial backing and that there was a separate plot, lawyers say the authorities picked up a Colombian
Operation Armageddon, which called for Maduro’s civilian, the physician boyfriend of the only woman
assassination at a military parade in July 2017. who participated in the coup attempt. They say he’s
The U.S. has “no intent to destabilize or over- been tortured, though he knew nothing of the plot.
throw the Venezuelan government,” says a State Maduro has carefully cultivated his relation-
Department spokesperson, but wants “a return to ship with the military. Last year, when more than
a stable, prosperous, and democratic Venezuela.” a million people joined antigovernment protests,
Speaking in Texas in February, as coup preparations he relied on his security forces to quash the unrest.
were coming to a head, then U.S. Secretary of State Since Chávez’s death in 2013, Maduro has handed
Rex Tillerson noted that militaries in Latin America
frequently step in during crises. “If the kitchen gets
a little too hot for [Maduro], I am sure that he’s got
some friends over in Cuba that could give him a nice
hacienda on the beach,” he said. Both Colombia and
Venezuela declined to comment.
The military prosecutor asserts that María
Corina Machado, a top opponent of Maduro’s, took
part in the plot. She and the participants say this
is fiction aimed at besmirching and possibly jailing
her. “This regime is once again trying to incrimi-
nate me,” Machado says in an interview in Caracas. 35
“I have no connection to these plots. They want
to silence my voice, because I have labeled them a
narco- dictatorship. I want to be clear: I want Nicolás
Maduro out of power immediately. But I want him
out alive so he can face the justice that his regime
has denied to Venezuelans.” Both the government
and the plotters have reason to exaggerate as well as
to downplay what happened: The plotters want for- over large parts of the economy to the military, ▲ Maduro
eign support and more officers to join the next effort including top jobs at the state oil producer and con-
and hope to protect those who’ve been caught. The trol over food distribution. He’s promoted hundreds
government seeks to justify a purge, which has of generals and admirals, and active and retired mil-
begun, while claiming to be in full control. itary officials hold nine of 34 cabinet posts.
Participants say the coup was first planned for Nonetheless, a person with knowledge of the mil-
ILLUSTRATION: NICHOLE SHINN; MADURO: CARLOS BECERRA/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES
April 2017 to stop Maduro from expanding his pow- itary says polls run by the intelligence service found
ers over Venezuela’s legislature. But an unrelated Machado has especially high approval ratings among
and much smaller military rebellion caused the par- officers. That may explain why the government has
ticipants to pull the plug. Planning continued into tried to link her to the plot. Rocío San Miguel, pres-
2018, with secret meetings being held in homes in ident of watchdog group Control Ciudadano, says
an upscale part of Caracas. At one point, a partici- Maduro also maintains control through fear, regu-
pant snuck across the border from Colombia wear- larly detaining or purging other officers and soldiers.
ing a fake mustache and using a false ID. “I don’t believe this idea that Maduro is hold-
Elements of discontent among the security forces ing on by a thread,” San Miguel says. “Maduro has
began to appear a year ago when Oscar Pérez, a developed a state policy of persecution and moni-
police officer and pilot, commandeered a helicop- toring within the armed forces. He’s paranoid. The
ter and lobbed grenades at government ministries. government is creating a firewall.” �Ethan Bronner,
Maduro blamed the attack on Major General Miguel Andrew Rosati, and Fabiola Zerpa
Rodríguez Torres, a former intelligence chief who
broke with the government in 2015. Pérez was later THE BOTTOM LINE A military coup to topple Venezuelan President
Maduro—the most serious threat he’s faced in his five years in
killed in a raid. By January, arrests of special forces office—was quashed when dozens of plotters were arrested.