Cotiza uprising

Cotiza uprising
Part of the Venezuelan presidential crisis
San José Parish of Caracas, where the Cotiza sector and the site of the mutiny are located
Date21 January 2019
Location
Cotiza, Caracas, Venezuela
Caused byCrisis in Venezuela
GoalsOverthrow of Nicolás Maduro
MethodsMilitary mutiny, anti-government protests
ResultUprising suppressed
Parties
Lead figures

Luis Bandres Figueroa

Casualties and losses
1 protester killed

The Cotiza uprising (Spanish: Levantamiento de Cotiza) was a military mutiny that took place on 21 January 2019, at the beginning of the Venezuelan presidential crisis, at a Bolivarian National Guard post located in the Cotiza sector of Caracas. After the mutiny, multiple protests broke out in the surrounding area in support of the troops.

Background

In the May 2018 elections, President Nicolás Maduro was re-elected amid widespread irregularities, leading many countries and a large portion of the Venezuelan opposition to consider the results invalid.[1][2] Several governments declared that Maduro had not been legitimately elected.[3] In the months leading up to his inauguration on 10 January 2019, Maduro was rejected by several governments and bodies, including the Lima Group and the Organization of American States (OAS); that pressure increased when the new board of the National Assembly of Venezuela was sworn in on 5 January 2019.[4][5][6] The National Assembly had been rejected by Maduro in mid-March 2017, but the governments and bodies mentioned above considered it the only legitimate democratic body in Venezuela.[7]

The electoral results were supported by Russia, China and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).[8][9] On 10 January 2019, the National Assembly of Venezuela declared that Maduro was usurping the office of president.[10]

Uprising

In the early hours of 21 January, a military mutiny took place at a Bolivarian National Guard post located in Cotiza, in north-western Caracas.[11] At least 27 service members revolted, took the security agents hostage, seized the armoury and attempted to march on the Miraflores Palace, but met resistance from other agents; they engaged in combat and were arrested by the authorities in the early morning. In videos circulated earlier on social media they had declared that they did not recognise the country's ruler and called on people to take to the streets in support of the insurrection.[12]

Aftermath

After the rebel group was neutralised, the authorities seized the weapons they had been carrying as well as their mobile phones. The episode set off a wave of strong civilian protests in the area in support of the rebels, which hours later spread to various sectors of the city in rejection of Maduro and the country's crisis.[13][14] Local residents continued the struggle, protesting and burning objects in the street even as tear gas was fired.[15] Colectivos killed a woman who was not protesting at her own front door,[16] and five others were wounded.[17]

The operation's leader, Luis Bandres Figueroa, was tortured during his detention, leading, according to his wife's testimony, to suicidal tendencies. Almost all those involved were detained at Ramo Verde Prison, with the exception of Bandres and Geomer Martínez, who were held at La Pica Prison.[18]

Significance

The Cotiza uprising was one of the first overt military challenges to Maduro at the start of the 2019 presidential crisis and immediately preceded the mass demonstrations of 23 January 2019, during which Juan Guaidó declared himself acting president. It illustrated the tensions within the lower ranks of the National Guard and contributed to the broader cycle of protests that defined the early phase of the crisis.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Olmo, Guillermo D. (10 January 2019). "Por qué es polémico que Maduro jure como presidente de Venezuela y por qué lo hace ahora si las elecciones fueron en mayo". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  2. ↑ "Maduro gana con la abstención histórica más alta en comicios presidenciales". Efecto Cocuyo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  3. ↑ Sen, Ashish Kumar. "Venezuela's Sham Election". Atlantic Council. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "Venezuela Swears in an Illegitimate President". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  5. ↑ Herrero, Ana Vanessa; Specia, Megan (10 January 2019). "Venezuela Is in Crisis. So How Did Maduro Secure a Second Term?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  6. ↑ "Peru, Paraguay recall diplomats over Maduro inauguration". aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  7. ↑ "Venezuela's Maduro begins second term". BBC News. 10 January 2019. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  8. ↑ "Maduro asumió pese a EEUU, la OEA, la UE y las amenazas de la oposición". portalalba.org (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  9. ↑ "Venezuela Congress leader challenges Maduro's right to presidency". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  10. ↑ "La Asamblea Nacional tacha a Maduro de "usurpador" y asume sus poderes como presidente de Venezuela". europapress.es (in Spanish). Europa Press. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  11. ↑ "Venezuela claims it has foiled attempted military uprising". The Guardian. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "Presunto alzamiento de la GNB en Cotiza para desconocer a Maduro". El Nacional (in Spanish). 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  13. ↑ "Revuelta militar, preámbulo de marchas del 23 de enero en Venezuela". El Tiempo (in Spanish). 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  14. ↑ "Detienen 27 militares venezolanos involucrados en el alzamiento contra Maduro". El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish). 21 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  15. ↑ "Venezuela Puts Down Mutiny by National Guard Unit". VOA. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  16. ↑ Nacional, El (21 January 2019). "Mujer fue asesinada en la puerta de su casa por un colectivo en Cotiza". El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  17. ↑ "Protestas en Venezuela dejan cuatro muertos antes de gran marcha". Noticias Caracol (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  18. ↑ Neho Sucre (29 November 2020). "Los 24 sargentos de Cotiza, la historia de una tortura prolongada" (in Spanish). El Pitazo.
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