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GIDEON LONG: Clashes in the streets, tear gas, rubber bullets, arrests, and injuries-- this has been the most violent week yet since the start of the year when Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido began his campaign to topple president Nicolas Maduro. The drama started at dawn on Tuesday when Mr Guaido appeared in a video outside an air base flanked by armed men in uniform. He called for an uprising by the armed forces and for citizens to join him. They did in their thousands and some tried to force their way into the air base, but were pushed back by soldiers. They retreated to a square in an opposition stronghold from where Mr Guaido repeated his appeal to the armed forces.
JUAN GUAIDO: [SPEAKING SPANISH]
GIDEON LONG: For the rest of the day there were chaotic scenes as anti-government protesters clashed with security forces. At least one person was killed, around 100 were injured. Meanwhile, senior members of the military pledged their allegiance to Mr Maduro. But the president himself was nowhere to be seen until the evening when he made an hour long combative speech from the presidential palace and said an attempted coup had been thwarted.
On Wednesday there was more of the same. Mr Guaido appeared on the streets again urging rebellion and, once again, there were violent clashes. It's not clear why Mr Guaido chose Tuesday to launch his uprising. It seems to have caught some supporters off guard. The United States says some key Maduro loyalists had planned to defect, but backed down at the last minute. What happens next is hard to predict. Mr Guaido has called for protests every day until Mr Maduro steps down. But, for now, the president seems to be in charge and his challenger is looking increasingly vulnerable.
