Venezuela’s Maduro Unleashes Military, Launches Criminal Probe of Rival Guaido by Mery Mogollon and Tracy Wilkinson – Los Angeles Times
The Trump administration on Tuesday threatened “serious consequences” against the government of President Nicolas Maduro for opening a criminal investigation into the country’s U.S.-backed opposition leader, a possible precursor to arrest.
And Maduro, defiantly resisting attempts to oust him, brandished his most potent weapon: the military. In a bellicose speech, he announced the creation of “popular defense units,” armed civilian squads comprising 50,000 fighters instructed to expand the army’s reach by putting down anti-government resistance in neighborhoods across Venezuela.
Both the criminal investigation and the formation of the defense brigades reflected Maduro’s decision to dig in and rebuff the mounting domestic and international pressure aimed at toppling him amid abject poverty and famine. The standoff is precarious and fraught with risk for both Maduro and the U.S.-backed opposition…