Venezuela is confronting small group of “traitorous” military personnel who are attempting a coup, said the nation’s vice president on Tuesday.
Jorge Rodriguez said that a group of soldiers self-deployed in the Altamira distributor road, which is close to La Carlota military air base, for uprising against the Constitution and the peace of the country.
"We call on the people to remain on high alert, together with the glorious Bolivarian National Armed Forces, to defeat the coup attempt and preserve the peace," he said.
Rodriguez's remarks came after the opposition leader Juan Guaido, who self-declared interim president, published a video where he called for an uprising with a group of soldiers.
Diosdado Cabello, the head of National Constituent Assembly, also urged the army and people to gather around the presidential palace to defend President Nicolas Maduro.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said that the National Bolivarian Armed Forces will continue to defend the Constitution and all military units reported normalcy in their bases.
Meanwhile, Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced that legal actions will be launched against those involved in the coup attempt led by Guaido.
Speaking to TV channel teleSUR, based in the capital Caracas, Saab said that Venezuela will follow the path of the law against the so-called freedom operation which seeks "a bloody war inside the country".
'Final phase of freedom operation starts'
Earlier on Tuesday, Guaido published a video where he met troops of National Armed Forces and called for an uprising to end the "usurpation" of Maduro.
He stressed that this was the beginning of the final phase of the so-called Freedom Operation for Maduro's ouster.
"The National Armed Forces have made the right decision, they have the support of the Venezuelan people," Guaido said.
Guaido also made a public call to the streets to support the "democratic forces" and "recover country's freedom."
"[Residents of the] Town of Caracas, all to La Carlota," he added, referring to a military air base.
Venezuela has been rocked by protests since Jan. 10, when Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition.
Tensions escalated when Guaido, who heads Venezuela’s National Assembly, declared himself acting president on Jan. 23, a move which was supported by the U.S. and many European and Latin American countries.
