Uruguay Leader Fears 'Leftist Coup' in Venezuela

W460

Uruguayan President Jose Mujica said Thursday he fears left-wing military officers in Venezuela will stage a coup against President Nicolas Maduro, whose government is under fire for an opposition crack-down.

"The problem Venezuela could have is that we could face a coup by left-wing military officers, and if that happens the defense of democracy goes to hell," said Mujica in an interview with Uruguayan newspaper El Pais.

His comments came after Maduro earlier this month accused his opponents of colluding with disgruntled air force officers to oust him with U.S. backing.

Like his mentor, the late leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez, Maduro regularly denounces alleged coup plots against him.

Last Thursday security forces arrested the opposition mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, on charges of conspiring to overthrow the government.

Mujica, who hands power back to predecessor Tabare Vazquez on Sunday, criticized the arrest of opposition figures in a separate interview with El Observador TV.

"The less political prisoners, the better," said the 79-year-old leader, a former leftist guerrilla who was himself imprisoned for 14 years.

On Wednesday Mujica said the Venezuelan opposition was divided between those seeking an "institutional path" to change and those "who want the government to resign or to overthrow it now."

Maduro is facing a wave of dissent as his government struggles to rein in annual inflation of 68.5 percent, end crippling shortages of basic goods and exit a recession exacerbated by the falling price of oil, Venezuela's main export.

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