This is not a drill, and despite the blathering by CNN, it’s not a coup. Juan Guaido, the constitutionally-recognized interim leader of Venezuela, has called upon the military to stand with him in order to remove Nicolas Maduro and his Russian-backed regime.

The dramatic events come after Guaido, alongside detained activist Leopoldo Lopez, called for a military uprising Tuesday morning in his boldest action to oust socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.”

“The armed forces have taken the right decision,” Guaido said earlier Tuesday. “With the support of the Venezuelan people and the backing of our constitution, they are on the right side of history.”

He added: “The moment is now.”

The 35-year-old leader of the opposition-led National Assembly and a small contingent of heavily armed soldiers appeared in an early morning video promoting the “final phase” of his putsch to oust Maduro.”

The United States, which has supported Guaido’s claim as interim president of Venezuela, offered its support of the opposition and its supporters.”

And today has turned into a no-holds-barred day in Venezuela. Senator Marco Rubio, who has been continually promoting and highlighting the plight of the Venezuelan people on his Twitter feed over the last several months, had this message today:

This is the moment for those military officers in #Venezuela to fulfill their constitutional oath & defend the legitimate interim President @jguaido in this effort to restore democracy. You can write history in the hours & days ahead.

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 30, 2019

The Trump administration confirmed again that it recognizes Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela, and Vice President Pence, Secretary Pompeo, and John Bolton all tweeted messages of support for Venezuela.

The key to getting Maduro out of power is the military. The National Guard must rally to Guaido in order to remove Maduro. Civilians are in the streets, protesting.

And there is bloodshed on the ground. Maduro is not going to leave without a fight. Dictators never do.

WATCH AND RETWEET:

Moments ago, armored GNB vehicle rams into a crowd of civilian protesters in #Caracas.

The dictatorship of @NicolasMaduro is killing civilians on live television.

This is what you are backing, @IlhanMN, @AOC, @BernieSanders, @DemSocialists, @codepink. pic.twitter.com/FvNtspNwfB

— The Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) April 30, 2019

And there is a concerted effort by Maduro and his thugs to cut off all social media and get the images off the air – with apparent help from China.

This is one of those moments where the good guys and the bad guys are pretty obvious. And yet CNN’s Jim Scuitto is all worried that the United States is “supporting a coup.”

Don’t miss this: the US is now publicly supporting an armed coup in Venezuela. On the other side is a govt backed by Russia.

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) April 30, 2019

Wait, we thought Russia was bad… now it’s not? Anyone else confused here? Fortunately, Marco Rubio is having none of that.

Just saw @CNN shamefully call what is happening today in #Venezuela a “coup attempt” @jguaido is recognized as legitimate interim President of #Venezuela by constitution,over 50 countries & OAS.

The only coup is the one carried out by #Cuba in support of dictator #Maduro

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 30, 2019

Pray for Venezuela. Pray that the military really will rally to Guaido’s side and to protect the civilian population from the Maduro thugs. And pray that Guaido and the people of Venezuela stand firm.

Featured image via Pixabay, Pixabay license free for commercial use