Venezuela troops quash attack on base by anti-Maduro group

CARACAS - 7 August 2017: Military troops quickly put down an attack at an army base in Venezuela on Sunday, clashing with a group that said it was out to "re-establish the constitutional order" but was dismissed by officials as a band of civilians working with a deserted lieutenant and a former officer, ABC News reported.

Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez characterized the attackers as a "paramilitary" expedition carried out by civilians dressed in uniforms.

He did not name any of the participants but said they included a lieutenant who had abandoned his post and that a former officer dismissed three years ago after being charged with rebellion and betraying the homeland had recorded the video.

Padrino Lopez alleged the men were recruited by "right-wing extremists" working with unspecified foreign governments. He said some of them managed to steal some weapons but the attack was quickly suppressed. At least seven people were detained and expected to be put before military tribunals.