Eli Lake, Columnist

There Is No Coup in Venezuela

The uprising in Caracas is an attempt to restore the government’s legitimacy, not overthrow it.

April 30, 2019 at 6:31 PM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Not what it looks like.
Photographer: Yuri Cortez/AFP

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It’s unclear what will unfold in Venezuela now that interim president Juan Guaido has called for the military and citizens to take to the streets. What is clear, however, is that this is not a coup.

You wouldn’t know this from the early news coverage. “Trump Aides Back Unfolding Venezuela Coup Attempt,” reads a typical headline in Politico. CNN blared “Coup in Venezuela” in its chyron (it has amended its website to call it an “uprising”). The headlines match the messaging of Nicolas Maduro’s regime. As the country’s information minister tweeted, the event is a small group of traitors attempting a coup.