Venezuela defense chief rules out coup

Posted on Sunday, 06.02.13

Venezuela defense chief rules out coup
By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER
Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's defense minister said Sunday that he
would never support a military coup to unseat President Nicolas Maduro
and has never even entertained the idea.

Adm. Diego Molero also said that Venezuela's military takes advice from
Cubans but that they do not influence its decisions.

Molero's statements during a television talk show appear to reflect
official concern over the opposition's recent release of a recording
allegedly showing an influential pro-government figure discussing coup
rumors with a Cuban intelligence officer, a conversation that seemed to
highlight Cuban influence in the oil-rich nation.

In the lengthy conversation, the purported voice of influential TV talk
show Mario Silva discusses a power struggle between Maduro and National
Assembly president Diosdado Cabello, whom he accuses of conspiring
against the president amid rumors of "saber rattling" in the military.

The speaker on the recording suggests Cabello's allies are behind false
rumors that Molero might back an attempt to oust Maduro, who is close to
Cuba's leaders and is said by analysts to have less backing in the
military. Silva alleged the recording was a fraud, but his show was
pulled from state TV after the conversation's release.

Maduro squandered a double-digit lead in less than two weeks, but
defeated challenger Henrique Capriles by a razor-thin margin on April 14
in an election to replace the late President Hugo Chavez.

On Sunday, former Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel asked Molero on his
talk show if "democratic and institutional stability is guaranteed in
Venezuela," if a coup attempt were possible.

Molero turned his head, looked straight into the camera and responded:
"It's impossible."

"I am a loyal guarantor of the constitutional concept that Maduro remain
in the government until the people decide otherwise," Molero said,
adding for emphasis: "It's impossible that such an idea would go through
my head."

Capriles has repeatedly complained about what he calls Cuba's growing
influence over Venezuela's government and military under Maduro, whose
first postelection foreign trip was to Havana.

Cabello has denied plotting against Maduro and called for unity among
the political heirs of Chavez, who are struggling with widespread
discontent over worsening food shortage, rampant power outages and
decreasing oil production.

Molero did not provide details regarding Cuban military advice, saying
only that Venezuela welcomes it, but makes its own decisions.

Maduro has defended his government's close ties with Cuba, whose economy
depends on Venezuelan oil shipments worth $3.2 billion a year that
account for about half its consumption.

Cuba partially pays for the oil in a barter deal, sending medics, sports
trainers, political advisers and other professionals to Venezuela. The
remainder is covered by 25-year, 1 percent interest loans.

Associated Press Writer Frank Bajak contributed to this report.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/02/3429215/venezuela-welcomes-military-advice.html