Venezuela thanks Turkey for support against coup bid

By Sinan Dogan

ANKARA (AA) - Venezuelan Embassy in Ankara on Tuesday thanked Turkey for its stance against coup bid in the south American country.

In a statement, the embassy expressed its appreciation of Turkish government and people for their support to the sovereign, democratic and constitutional government of Venezuela.

The Venezuelan army has intervened to neutralize a small number of coup plotters with the support of Venezuelan people, it said.

According to the statement, Tuesday’s coup attempt was led by the “U.S. empire's puppet Juan Guaido”.

Earlier, Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido released a video -- in which he can be seen alongside a small contingent of uniformed military personnel and armored vehicles -- calling for an uprising to end the "usurpation" of Maduro.

He stressed it was the beginning of the final phase of the “Operacion Libertad”, or Operation Liberty, to oust Maduro.

“The National Armed Forces have made the correct decision, they have the support of the Venezuelan people," Guaido said.

Guaido also called on Venezuelans to take to the streets to support the "democratic forces" and "recover the country's freedom".