Venezuela on the brink of civil war, army on city streets

The situation in Venezuela is extremely bad, the country is on the verge of civil war, and the authorities have no answer to calm the passions, world media report, according to the Patria agency.

Venezuelan authorities are still searching for the leaders of the "terrorist attack" on a military base in Valencia and are trying to convince the public that "unity reigns in the army" in order to prevent the spread of rebellion.

The country is getting closer to civil war after an attack was carried out this weekend, but the attempt to capture the base, in which two attackers were killed, one was wounded, seven were arrested, and ten are currently on the run, failed.

The opposition continues to pressure socialist president Nicolas Maduro. They called for road blockades across the country for six hours on Tuesday. The Minister of Defense and Commander of the Armed Forces, General Vladimir Padrino, said that a military operation is underway to arrest former National Guard officer Juan Carlos Caguaripano and Lieutenant Jefferson Gabriel Garcia, whom he considers the organizers of Sunday's attack on the Paramacay base, in which about twenty armed individuals participated.

General Padrino called the two of them "enemies of the state" in a video in which he appears in front of three tanks with barrels pointed at the sky, armored vehicles, and armed soldiers.

- Rest assured that we can count on the united Bolivarian Armed Forces, whose morale is at the highest level - said Padrino.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called them foreign mercenaries who want to overthrow Venezuela.

- I congratulate the army that broke the terrorists and thwarted their attack. These are mercenaries of foreign powers who wanted to steal weapons from the base, but they did not succeed - said Maduro.

The attack on the base in Paramacay increases tensions in Venezuela, where a severe political and economic crisis fuels criticism from the international community, concerned about Nicolas Maduro's slide into dictatorship after being elected in 2013. Venezuela seems to be increasingly isolated on the international stage every day, after criticism from the United States and exclusion from MERCOSUR, the South American common market.

Foreign ministers of fourteen Latin American countries will discuss finding a solution to the crisis in Venezuela on Tuesday in Lima.