Venezuela’s Maduro urges military to ‘capture traitors’

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the country’s armed forces to “capture traitors” within their ranks.

“If a traitor emerges, capture him immediately, it’s an order: capture him immediately!” Maduro told army personnel at a military rally called the “March of Loyalty” in the northern state of Carabobo on Tuesday.

The president called on military personnel to be vigilant against enemy threats and to “activate” the “weapons systems… to make any adventure impossible for imperialism.”

The United States has several times threatened to take military action to oust Maduro’s government since the deepening of a political and economic crisis in the country last year.

A small number of renegade soldiers led by opposition figure Juan Guaido staged an attempted coup d’état against Maduro’s government last month. But the bid quickly failed, and many of the putschists have taken shelter at foreign embassies in Caracas. Others have been arrested or gone into hiding.