On April 30^th, 2019, Juan Gerardo Guaido, the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, tried to spark a military uprising. Using a video posted to social media, he called for citizens to rise up against Nicolas Maduro’s government. He appeared alongside several prominent military members, filming in an airbase in the capital of Caracas. Nicolás Maduro was first elected in April 2013 after the death of his socialist mentor and predecessor in office, Hugo Chávez.

Afterward, there were reportedly confrontations near the base between Guaido’s military supporters and Maduro regime loyalists.  The protests did not have the support of enough military defectors to declare a victory. President Guaido is like superman in Venezuela fighting for the greater good of his people and President Maduro is a evil villian that wants people to suffer and his people are loyal to him out of fear. President Guaido said , “We have to acknowledge that yesterday there were not enough (people), we have to insist that all the armed forces protest together, we are not asking for a confrontation. We are not asking for a confrontation among brothers, it’s the opposite. We just want them to be on the side of the people.”

CNN writer Rob Picheta said   “Maduro appeared to deny US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s claim that the Venezuelan President was planning to leave the country and head to Cuba but was convinced not to by Russia.” Maduro’s plane was parked on a runway and a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry says Pompeo’s claim is false. After being re-elected, Mr. Maduro announced he would serve out his remaining first term and only then be sworn in for a second term on 10 January. It was following his swearing-in ceremony that the opposition to his government was given a fresh boost. The National Assembly argues   that because the election was not fair, Mr. Maduro is a “usurper” and the presidency is vacant.

The South American country has been caught in a downward spiral for years with growing political discontent further fueled by skyrocketing hyperinflation, power cuts and shortages of food and medicine. Lafayette High School Senior Ethan Quick said, “They need to get rid of the communism idea and go back to a free market system so, they can have a President and allow the U.S to give humanitarian aid to there citizens because they’re starving.”

Tension between both men began on the 23^rd of January, 2019, when President Guaidó declared himself acting president and said he would assume the powers of the executive branch from there onwards. La’Trell Davis, a Senior of Heritage High School said, “Venezuela has a major food shortage for example people are leaving the country and the ones that remain there are steady losing weight and dying, they need help of the United States.” President Guaido is essentially like a Martin Luther King figure, he’s fighting for peace and the greater good of his people  His efforts date back to February of 2019, when he set measures in place to bring in food with the help of the U.S., but military members serving under Nicolas Maduro caused confrontation.