Shocking videos have been circulating social media of military vehicles running into protesters in Venezuela.
The video shows armored vehicles attacking protesters in streets and violently running into and injuring many of them who fell to the ground.
While the alleged videos' exact place and timing were not confirmed, it is still unknown whether the armored vehicles were backed by President Nicolás Maduro’s government or the opposition leaders who have been trying to unseat the president for weeks.
Due to my experience of protesting against a socialist government, my heart breaks watching this in a way it is impossible to explain.
The population is in misery, starved, unarmed.
Where is the UN????
pic.twitter.com/Lw08217TjK— Julia Song (@newamerpolitics) April 30, 2019
Some users have also argued that the tanks are in fact opposition-backed, as some footage appears to show soldiers to Guaido stealing vehicles at gunpoint.
There has been widespread sharing of video of a Venezuelan military vehicle charging at civilians to claim the govt is killing people. The video below suggests this may have been staged by the opposition: appears to show military defectors to Guaido stealing vehicles at gunpoint. https://t.co/NMdfsX18gN
— Ajit Singh (@ajitxsingh) May 1, 2019
Protests kicked off in January 2019 since Maduro declared himself interim president. The opposition leader Juan Guaidó and backed by the US government, went then on to call Venezuelans to take to the streets to oust Maduro. The opposition controls the National Assembly.
During the past week, Guaido appeared in a video addressing the nation while standing alongside a number of men in military uniform, as he announced he had the support of "brave soldiers" in Caracas.
Meanwhile, it appears that most of the military stayed on the side of Maduro during the clashes.
