Armoured National Guard vehicles have been seen driving into protesters on the streets of Caracas in what one observer has dubbed Venezuela’s “Tiananmen Square” moment.
Video broadcast on several networks around the world shows the vehicles appearing to run directly over protesters on different sections of a roadway, reportedly outside of the La Carolta air base in the Venezuelan capital.
Protesters have taken to the street in the city after opposition leader Juan Guaido — who has international support form the United States — posted a video online calling of the “final phase” in his plan to ouster President Nicolas Maduro.
As the protests continued throughout the day on Tuesday, gunshots were reportedly heard, drawing the attention of the international community.
Mr Maduro, for his part, has called the demonstrations a “coup” that he says was planned in the United States.
The US has announced its support for Mr Guaido, though it is not clear that the Tuesday demonstrations were actually planned in Washington.
Mr Guaido’s representative in Washington, Carlos Vecchio, said that the protests in Venezuela were “only the beginning”, and that this “is an operation that is developing right now, you will see more events in the hours and days to come.”
