The capture of the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, by the United States took place between the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, which seemed like a block of iron, impossible to break and which this morning could not prevent the arrest of the Chavista leader. However, within hours of the arrest there were only signs of an internal crisis or a surrender on the part of the Venezuelan uniforms.
The head of the plan of the Bolivarian Revolution had planned a protocol in case such a circumstance occurred, as has been stated on several occasions; After all, there have been four months of continued political tension. Some of the most important leaders of Chavismo, Diosdado Cabello, Vladimir Padrino López and Delcy Rodríguez, took the floor to call for calm, summon their supporters and declare a state of internal unrest. The Armed Forces, like the state security organs, have been deployed throughout the territory to guarantee control of the territory. There are not many ordinary citizens who are called up. There are mainly political activists and armed men.
The finalization of this operation, however, leaves the parties open and many questions. The Minister of Defense himself, Vladimir Padrino, denounced the existence of an “outrage”. Maduro and Flores, one of the most powerful figures in the country, were taken by surprise and captured alive without causing too serious military unrest. These circumstances suggest the existence of a high-caliber intelligence operation, which could break Maduro’s security networks, with the likely incentive being the reward offered for his capture.
During all these months, certain analysts in exile have continued to insinuate the existence of a military malaise in the country. A discontent which, they affirm, is inevitably accompanied by the social irritation of the population. We talk about the low morale of the troops, the material needs, the very low salaries and the personal problems which affect the troops. Opposition leaders are absolutely sure that the majority of the military voted for Edmundo González Urrutia in last year’s presidential elections.
Despite these signs, these figures demonstrated, once again, a much more nuanced reality. The Chavista government is, fundamentally, a military regime and its influence on the military body, despite the contradictions of reality, is still relatively broad. The Bolivarian, socialist and anti-imperialist doctrine, conceived by Hugo Chávez in the Armed Forces, is hidden in Venezuelan military thinking. Totally different from what existed during democracy, at the beginning of the siglo. If the Venezuelan opposition has committed a serious sin during these years, it is by underestimating the influence of Hugo Chávez as a military leader among his colleagues. In the classes of the Venezuelan Army City Hall, subjects such as “The Political Thoughts of Hugo Chávez” are today taught.
This process, galvanized by Chávez himself through an oath with his allies before his death, was consolidated under Maduro. Your government has spent a lot of time unblocking what was already blocked. Maduro has dedicated himself to increasing the strength of the National Guard and the police, engaging his employees in political and economic incentives, and developing a highly effective intelligence service, far superior to those that existed in the country in the past.
For him, Maduro counted on the support of the general in chief of the FANB, Vladimir Padrino López, one of the fundamental figures of the regime. A military squad formed during the democratic era, with a personal connection to Chávez, as well as experience and authority within the troop. Padrino López, who was Minister of Defense for 11 years, was responsible for consolidating Chavez’s encomienda – “guaranteeing the progress of the Bolivarian revolution” – by consolidating his cultural habits and ideological framework.
He does this with great declarative astuteness, gradually revealing his revolutionary commitment, taking a convenient distance from civil political debate. It is more powerful than Chavismo in maintaining the power it holds thanks to the military control it exercises in Venezuela.
All the civic initiatives and political strategies that developed the opposition during these years during electoral periods to gain power; legislative decisions and electoral victories; All the popular demonstrations demanding respect for legality and respect for the Constitution during these years came up against the same wall: the Chavista identity of the armed forces. The opposition leaders’ lack of influence within their ranks is evident. He also renounces listening to or valuing their demands, without responding to the manifest commitment of the Venezuelan army to the values and interests of Chavismo. A movement which, generally speaking, is sometimes defined as “power”.
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