Venezuela says 'attempted coup' under way

Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed acting president Juan Guaido said on Tuesday that troops had joined his campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro as the government vowed to put down what it called an attempted coup.

"We are currently facing and deactivating a small group of treacherous military personnel who took positions in the Altamira distributor road (in Caracas) to promote a coup d'etat," Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said on Twitter.

"We call on the people to remain on maximum alert to -- with our glorious National Bolivarian Armed Forces -- defeat the attempted coup and preserve peace," he said.

In a video recorded at a Caracas military air base posted on social media, the US-backed Guaido said troops had heeded months of urging to join his campaign to oust Maduro.

"Today brave soldiers, brave patriots, brave men supporting the constitution have answered our call," he said.

Television images showed soldiers and Guaido supporters at the largely empty base milling around without urgency.

Colombia's president, Ivan Duque, called on Twitter for "soldiers and the people of Venezuela to place themselves on the right side of history, rejecting dictatorship and Maduro's usurption."
Venezuela's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez asserted on Twitter that the situation in military barracks and bases in the country was "normal."