Maduro dismisses five generals: does the tyrant no longer trust his army?

Yesterday, Venezuela experienced a new massive mobilization of the democratic opposition despite the repression of the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro.

Images of the August 17 protests in Spain against Maduro's fraud in Venezuela
Maduro is earning merits to end up like another dictator called Nicolás in 1989

Massive protest in Caracas despite the regime's military mobilization

The socialist regime had militarized Caracas in an attempt to instill fear among the Venezuelan people, but it was of no use: a crowd took to the streets led by opposition leader María Corina Machado in a new mobilization success that demonstrates the strength of the opposition after its victory in the July 28 elections and the increasingly obvious weakness of Maduro and his henchmen.

La decisión del pueblo SE RESPETA, eso significa cobrar.

El mundo y todos dentro de nuestro país deben reconocer que el presidente electo de Venezuela es Edmundo González Urrutia!! #YoSalíPorVzla 🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/RMTSNFcQtO

— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) August 17, 2024

But the success of this new opposition protest, accompanied by protests in 350 cities around the world (including dozens of Spanish cities) in a mobilization unprecedented in all the years that Venezuela has been subjected to a socialist dictatorship, is not the only indication of the growing weakness of Chavismo. Yesterday there was another piece of news in Venezuela that reveals the extent to which the regime no longer trusts even its own army.

Maduro's dictatorship dismisses five of its generals

Journalist Casto Ocando said that Maduro has dismissed five generals from the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB), showing the orders to dismiss them that were signed this Friday by Maduro's Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino. Ocando points out that these are generals who "were under investigation for not having shown sufficient loyalty to the regime." The journalist adds: "The positions are of great importance to the FANB and these generals were replaced by others in a last-minute measure signed by the dictatorship's minister." The dismissed generals are the following:

• Brigadier General Jesús Manuel Carpio Medina, commander of the 11th Armored Brigade "General Pedro José Ruiz Rondón", based in Fuerte Mara, Zulia, near Maracaibo, now the second most populous city in Venezuela.
• Brigadier General Héctor José Cadenas Daal, commander of the 41st Armored Brigade "Captain Juan Ángel Bravo García", based in Naguana, next to the city of Valencia, in Carabobo.
• Brigadier General Hibraim Ricardo Sirgo Herrera, commander of the 35th Military Police Brigade "Libertador José de San Martín", based in Caracas.
• Brigadier General Bismark Maracoymo Castañeda Rodríguez, commander of the 43rd Field Artillery Brigade "Grand Marshal of Ayacucho Antonio Jose de Sucre", based in San Juan de los Morros, Guárico State.
• Brigadier General Alexander Antonio Gómez Piñerez, commander of the 62nd Combat Engineer Brigade, based in San Cristóbal, Táchira State.

Ocando adds: "The changes in these generals occur amid intense rumors of growing discontent within the FANB to participate in acts of human rights violations, which could lead to international consequences that concern the Chavist military."

The Venezuelan opposition asked the army to refuse to repress the people

On August 5, Edmundo González -winner of the July 28 elections- and María Corina Machado addressed a letter to the Venezuelan military and police in which they stated the following:

"We call on the conscience of the military and police to stand by the people and their own families. With this massive violation of human rights, the high command is aligning itself with Maduro and his vile interests. While you are represented by those people who went out to vote, by your colleagues in the National Armed Forces, by your relatives and friends, whose will was expressed on July 28 and you know.

We are aware that all members of the National Armed Forces have a decision not to repress citizens who peacefully demand their rights and victory. We Venezuelans are not enemies of the FAN. With that disposition, we call on you to prevent the actions of groups organized by the Maduro leadership, a combination of military and police squads and armed groups outside the State, who beat, torture and also murder, under the protection of the evil power they represent. You can and must stop these actions immediately. We urge you to prevent the regime's rampage against the people and to respect, and to enforce, the results of the July 28 elections. Maduro has carried out a coup d'état that contradicts the entire constitutional order and wants to make you his accomplices.

You know that we have irrefutable proof of victory. The Carter Center report is devastating regarding the conditions and the election result, while Maduro is trying to fabricate results when, in addition, the legal period for publishing them has expired.

Members of the Armed Forces and police forces, attend to your institutional duties, do not repress the people, accompany them.

Likewise, we ask all Venezuelans who have mothers, fathers, children, siblings, or partners who are members of the National Armed Forces or police officers to demand that they not repress, to ignore illegal orders, and to recognize Popular Sovereignty, as expressed in the votes on Sunday, July 28.

The new government of the Republic, democratically elected by the Venezuelan people, offers guarantees to those who fulfill their constitutional duty. It also emphasizes that there will be no impunity. This is a commitment that we assume with each and every Venezuelan."

The FANB has about 300,000 active-duty soldiers, as well as 430,000 reservists. Many of them are under intense pressure from the situation created by Maduro’s new electoral fraud. It is the socialist dictator who is carrying out a coup against his people, and it is increasingly clear that there can be no peaceful transition to democracy in Venezuela if the army and the police do not rebel against the Chavist regime, which has no legitimacy to govern the Venezuelan people, and only holds on to power through violence.

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Photo: AFP. A file photo of Nicolás Maduro.