Brazil military finds no fraud in election, but refuses to rule it out: A leaked document indicates that senior military personnel have ordered the review of the voting process in favour of Juan Guaido
Ricardo De Arrellanes / Reuters A soldier holds a ballot box while on duty at the Venezuelan Congress, where the National Assembly has prepared for a possible snap election.
CARACAS — A military coup plot is now unfolding in part thanks to leak documents that have shown how military personnel worked to undermine the electoral process in the country that has been facing a near-fatal illness.
The leaked documents from a meeting of the National Assembly, which began in June, appear to show that senior army officers ordered the review of the voting process in favour of the self-proclaimed president of the opposition National Assembly Juan Guaido, who was recognized as Venezuela’s interim president by the country’s Supreme Court three months ago.
The leak appeared to confirm a recent statement by the country’s minister of defense, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who said that the possibility of a coup “exists, but there is no way to guarantee that there’s no coup attempt”.
Venezuela’s Supreme Court issued a presidential decree in January declaring Guaido the country’s legitimate president. The Supreme Court had previously rejected two earlier attempts to recognize the opposition leader as the country’s lawful president in a vote marred by allegations of fraud.
The National Assembly, dominated by the ruling political party, has since been preparing for a possible snap election in August. The election would take place against the backdrop of a military offensive against Maduro’s government and shortages of basic supplies in the oil-rich nation.
The leaked documents were shared by Venezuelan journalist, Gustavo Gbadamosi, who reported on the meeting and who obtained the documents from fellow journalist, Sergio Guerra. Gbadamosi said that the meeting had taken place in late June, and that the documents were not signed until July 1, six days after the report was published.
Venezuela’s armed forces “clearly wanted” to stop the process because of the perceived electoral irregularities, Gbadamosi wrote. The meeting, he added, is likely the beginning of a process of removing key members of the body from their seats in the National Assembly.
According to the leaks, the military
