As Venezuela Plunges Into The Depths Of Chaos, Where Will Its Strained Military Stand?

Venezuela is eclipsed by an historic crisis, which has opened the gates to waves of violence and turned its streets to battlefields between the protesters and the security forces. The concern is that, sooner or later, there will have to come a decisive moment of confrontation.

Fearing for the worst, President Nicolas Maduro, who is seen as the prime cause of the disastrous mismanagement of his country, has expanded the military’s authority and feels that he has to lean on the officers as his own grip on power weakens. 

The government has pampered the armed forces as much as an economy in shambles will allow. But the question is whether or not such 'bribery' for unconditional loyalty will work in his favour.

The military has helped hold up the socialist administration for more than a decade, but never before was it the government’s main crutch. And despite the outward loyalty of top officers, cracks are beginning to appear. In April, three lieutenants publicly rejected Maduro as commander in chief and sought asylum in Colombia. Any actual coup would cause an international crisis across a hemisphere profoundly scarred by the bloody military takeovers that marked much of the past century. 

But most opposition figures are hoping for much more passive support: for soldiers to hold back from attacks on protesters.

More than a dozen military officers were arrested during the first two weeks of the protests and thrown into a military prison on suspicion of rebellion, according to military documents provided to The Associated Press by a third party.

AP's Hannah Dreier has followed a newly appointed lieutenant by the name of Catire and reports with clarity how torn the Venezuelan army becomes under the pressure of the social unrest. Its final choices, we understand, will make or break the country's future.