Venezuela news: State uses tear gas on protestors as Pompeo threatens US military action
Competing leaders both call for people to take a stand amid violence on the streets of Caracas
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Protestors have taken to the streets in Venezuela in competing demonstrations as the battle for power continues in Caracas and beyond.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido has declared himself the legitimate leader of the country, backed by the US and dozens of other nations, after accusing President Nicolas Maduro of fraudulently keeping his place in office. He has called for mass protests.
Mr Maduro has called the uprising a ‘coup’ and has said that he has subdued the ‘traitors’ in the military who have backed Mr Guaido.
He too has called for his “working class supporters” to take to the streets on Wednesday, which is International Workers’ Day.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said that the US will take military action in Venezuela “if required” but would prefer a peaceful solution to the crisis.
The Pentagon on Wednesday appeared to downplay any active planning to directly intervene in Venezuela to topple President Nicolas Maduro, telling Congress it had not been given orders to prepare for war and stressing support for diplomacy.
Asked whether the US military had been given instructions to prepare for a military conflict, perhaps by prepositioning troops, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Kathryn Wheelbarger said: “We of course always review available options and plan for contingencies.”
“But in this case we have not been given (the) sort of orders that you’re discussing, no,” Ms Wheelbarger told the House Armed Services Committee.
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Mr Guaido has been tweeting about the protests today, issuing a list of gathering points in Caracas.
The Tweet also reads: "Today we continue... "We will keep going with more strength than ever, Venezuela."
Some more comments from Mike Pompeo on Nicolas Maduro saying that the US to "determined" to restore democracy in Venezuela.
As we await for crowds to take to the streets again today, here are some images of the scenes from yesterday.
An opposition supporter throws stones at soldiers loyal to Nicolas Maduro (AP)
An anti-government protester near a bus that set on fire by opponents of Mr Maduro during clashes between rebel and loyalist soldiers in Caracas (AP)
Mike Pompeo is scheduled to speak with his Russian counterpart., foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, White House national security advisor John Bolton has said.
When asked by CNN whether he thought Mr Maduro would still be in power at the end of the day, Mr Bolton was non-committal. But he did say of the Venezuelan government that "one kick at the door and the whole rotten edifice falls down".
Mr Bolton also hit out at Russia, claiming they are using Cuba as "surrogates" to help prop up President Maduro.
Russia has denied such claims, but see Mr Maduro as the legitimate leader in Venezuela.
Stones, spent shotgun shells and tear gas canisters litter some streets in Venezuela's capital, as citizens digest the events from yesterday.
One man died in Tuesday's demonstrations, which spanned across 65 cities, according to Venezuelan rights monitoring group Provea.
Two other rights groups in Venezuela -- the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict -- also reported the death.
IACHR also said that protests were held in 24 states and, in at least 12 of the states, were “strongly repressed.”
83 people were arrested during clashes in Caracas according to monitoring group Foro Penal.
More than 70 people were injured in the clashes and were taken to Salud Chacao Medical Center in Caracas
John Bolton, seemingly on media duties along with Mike Pompeo, has been outside the White House talking to reporters. He is again attacking Russia and Cuba claiming that if Havana's troops left Venezuela now, Mr Maduro would "fall by midnight".
Here is Admiral Craig Faller talking to the House Armed Services Committee about the situation in Venezuela, saying that it compounds other issues in the region.
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