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<h1 id="reader-title">5 Venezuela Opposition Leaders Who Took
Part in 2002 Coup</h1>
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<p> 11 April 2017 <br>
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<p>During Venezuela's April 11, 2002, right-wing coup
attempt against popular President Hugo Chavez, main
figures who now lead the opposition were not mere
bystanders as the coup-leaders led an attack on the
presidential palace leading to the deaths of dozens,
squashed rights, attacked ministers and annulled all
legislation.</p>
<p>teleSUR looks at five current key opposition leaders
who participated in the failed coup.</p>
<p><span><strong>1. Henrique Capriles Radonski</strong></span></p>
<p>Co-founder of right-wing Primero Justicia — a party set
up with funding from the U.S. National Endowment for
Democracy and the International Republican Institute —
Capriles was mayor of the upper-class district of Baruta
in Caracas during the April 2002 failed coup against
Chavez.</p>
<p>When a violent group of protestors tried to forcefully
enter the Cuban embassy, located within the
municipality, as they believed that Bolivarian leaders
were hiding inside, Capriles joined them and jumped over
the fence — violating diplomatic territory.</p>
<p>After a confrontation with Cuban diplomatic staff,
Capriles told the crowd he could not find out whether
Bolivarian state officials were hiding, sparking further
violence against the embassy. The embassy’s electricity
and water supply were cut off, windows smashed and
diplomatic cars attacked.</p>
<p><span><strong>2. Leopoldo Lopez</strong></span></p>
<p>In April 2002, Lopez, then mayor of the wealthy Caracas
district of Chacao, was among those who led an
opposition march which was re-routed toward the
Miraflores Palace, where thousands of Chavez supporters
were also demonstrating. Dozens of people were killed in
the ensuing clashes, which have been shown to be a
premeditated, orchestrated massacre to justify the coup
and kidnapping of President Chavez.</p>
<p>In the days that followed, Lopez participated in a
witch hunt for officials from the Chavez government,
including the illegal detention of Minister of Interior
and Justice Ramon Rodriguez Chacin. It is astonishing to
recall that Lopez did this while still occupying the
office of mayor.</p>
<p>Lopez also led the 2014 violent guarimbas, for which he
is serving a sentence of almost 14 years, after being
convicted of crimes of public instigation, property
damage, and arson.</p>
<p><span><strong>3. Henry Ramos Allup</strong></span></p>
<p>The former president of the national assembly is
closely associated with the old guard of politicians,
hailing from the Democratic Action party, one of two
parties that would alternate power for 40 years between
1958-1998 after having signed a formal agreement, the
“Punto Fijo” pact.</p>
<p>Henry Ramos Allup was one of the leaders of the 2002
coup. Videos show him running from the Miraflores
presidential palace before Chavez’s return. In 2011, he
revealed in an interview with Ciudad CCS that the
executive order that set up the “de facto” government
was prepared one week before the coup against Chavez and
that the owners of the mainstream media were also
directly involved in covering the event.</p>
<p>Shortly after being elected to office on Dec. 6, 2015,
Ramos Allup criticized the 1999 constitution, calling it
a “disaster,” and signaling his desire to have it
reformed. He praised the 1961 constitution that allowed
only two parties to govern as “civilized.”</p>
<p>Ramos Allup has stated that the main priority of the
opposition national assembly is “a change of
government,” referring to the stated goal of right-wing
legislators to remove President Nicolas Maduro from
power.</p>
<p><span><strong>4. Maria Corina Machado</strong></span></p>
<p>Machado, just like Capriles Radonski and Lopez comes
from Venezuela’s business elite and was vice president
of right-wing party Sumate and an opposition lawmaker
when the coup against Chavez occurred.</p>
<p>Machado signed the decree evoked by Ramos Allup, which
broke the constitutional order and dissolved state
institutions for two days.</p>
<p>Machado is still allegedly devising plans to undermine
the Venezuelan government, according to Venezuelan
investigative journalist Eva Golinger, in 2013 she met
USAID official Mark Feierstein, along with other leading
figures of the Venezuelan opposition.</p>
<p>She was also among the most prominent promoters of the
2014 opposition violence that claimed the lives of 43
people.</p>
<p><span><strong>5. Julio Borges</strong></span></p>
<p>A lawmaker since 2000, Borges founded the right-wing
Justice First party and currently leads the opposition
MUD coalition. He was chosen as the new president of the
national assembly for the 2017 session, even though his
tenure is not recognized by the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>After the 2002 coup attempt against Chavez, Borges
demanded the entire government resign and played a major
role in the subsequent campaign for a recall referendum
— which Chavez won.</p>
<p>Borges was again elected to the national assembly in
2015, where he continued to play a major role in
attempts to overthrow Maduro’s government. In February
2015, Air Force General Osvaldo Hernandez, who was
accused of participating in a plot to launch a coup
against Maduro, said Borges was involved in the plot as
well.</p>
<p>In October 2016, Borges led the failed — and
constitutionally illegal — initiative to put Maduro on
trial, arguing that the democratically-elected president
had staged a “coup,” consistently appealing to the
Washington-based Organization of American States to
intervene in Venezuela. </p>
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