AGUA CALIENTE, Venezuela (AP) 鈥 At a crossroads not far from a gas station overgrown with weeds, young men and women in faded green fatigues stop vehicles returning from a rally for opponents of Venezuelan President Nicol谩s Maduro, ask passengers for their identifications, and inspect their cars, trucks and motorcycles.
Such checkpoints have proliferated across the country鈥檚 vast tropical plains, forested highlands and beachfronts in the run-up to Sunday鈥檚 presidential election, aiming to intimidate and occasionally detain government critics. They often involve a request for a ride, bananas or 鈥渃ollaboration鈥 鈥 Venezuela鈥檚 euphemism for a small bribe.
But the power play frequently falls flat. When their superiors slip away from the scorching sun, the grunts betray their displeasure with Maduro and openness to a new commander in chief.
鈥淒id the lady arrive? Were there a lot people?鈥 one giddy soldier asks about opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
鈥淲e wanted to watch, but there is no Wi-Fi here,鈥 whispers another.
Since taking power in 2013, Maduro hasn鈥檛 hesitated to deploy troops to crush protests while rewarding senior officers with lucrative government jobs and control of key industries. But days away from a hotly disputed vote that threatens Maduro鈥檚 hold on power, the self-proclaimed socialist is working harder than ever to shore up the loyalty of the armed forces 鈥 the traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela 鈥 and keep top commanders in line.
In recent days, the president has appeared on state TV attending a graduation ceremony for 25,000 police officers, praising them as the first line of defense against what he called attempts by rightwing hardliners to provoke a tragedy. He also promoted dozens of officers and bestowed a new title on his longtime defense minister, Vladimir Padrino L贸pez: 鈥滸eneral of the Sovereign People.鈥
鈥淭he destiny of Venezuela depends on our victory,鈥 Maduro said at a rally this month. 鈥淚f we want to avoid a bloodbath, or a fratricidal civil war triggered by the fascists, then we must guarantee the biggest electoral victory ever.鈥
The top brass has stood fast with Maduro, delving deep into political mudslinging instead of sticking to its traditional role safeguarding the vote.
Gen. Domingo Hern谩ndez L谩rez, the head of the joint chiefs of staff, posted a photo on social media purportedly showing Machado speaking in front of a white board scribbled with notes calling for the 鈥渆limination鈥 of the armed forces. Machado, who was banned from running and is backing stand-in candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, has called the accusation 鈥渇ake news.鈥 A media watchdog group said the image was manipulated.
Maduro's opponents have long struggled to win over doubters in the military.
The armed forces have been an integral part of Maduro's grip on power ever since his mentor and predecessor, former tank commander Hugo Ch谩vez, led an uprising against an unpopular austerity government in 1992. When Chavez was elected president in 1998, he purged officers indoctrinated in the U.S. to fight communism, placed fellow coup plotters in top positions and poured the country's oil wealth into fighter jets and expensive military hardware.
Maduro, without Ch谩vez's military pedigree, has nonetheless empowered his own crop of uniformed allies, many of whom, like the president, face allegations of corruption and human rights abuses.
The 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Guard has also quietly imported anti-riot gear and refurbished armored vehicles that could be used to quell protests, according to retired Gen. Rodolfo Camacho, a Maduro opponent who writes a report on military affairs.
Meanwhile, the government hasn't hesitated to punish soldiers who step out of line. Members of the armed forces make up about half of the 301 Maduro opponents currently imprisoned and classified as political prisoners by Caracas-based legal assistance cooperative Foro Penal.
The Defense Ministry did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
While nobody is predicting a barracks revolt, discontent among the rank and file is widespread, said William Brownfield, a former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela and senior fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington.
As Venezuela's economy has gone off the rails 鈥 shrinking 71% between 2012 and 2020, while inflation topped 130,000% 鈥 the cash bonuses and perks awarded to military families have lost much of their luster. Desertion has increased among the roughly 150,000 members of the military, as many join the millions of Venezuelans rather than defend a government they no longer support.
鈥淭he conscripts, enlisted personnel, and low-ranking officers are not raking in the cash,鈥 said Brownfield. 鈥淢any probably have relatives who have fled Venezuela and they are susceptible to the opposition's message.鈥
Gen. Manuel Cristopher Figuera, a former spy chief, said any movement to defy Maduro would come from the bottom up in the form of a refusal to repress protesters. Opposition leaders have vowed to 鈥渄efend鈥 their vote in the event of any tampering, and given the recent history of political bloodshed, many Venezuelans are bracing for demonstrations after the election.
鈥淭hey aren鈥檛 going to rebel, but they aren鈥檛 going to obey orders either,鈥 said Figuera, who fled the country in 2019 after leading a failed attempt to remove Maduro.
Some believe Maduro can't rely as confidently on his allies and see Padrino as a potential white knight. The 61-year-old is one of the last Venezuelan officers trained in the U.S. 鈥 he studied psychological operations at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia 鈥 before Chavez shifted Venezuela's alliances toward Russia, China and Iran.
In 2015, when the opposition swept parliamentary elections by a landslide, Padrino appeared on state TV flanked by his top command recognizing the results even before Maduro acknowledged defeat.
And Venezuela's top brass has turned on a dime before, most remarkably in 1958, when it ousted President Marcos Perez Jimenez after being complicit in his dictatorship for years.
鈥淚f there's an avalanche of people in the streets supporting the opposition, there's going to be a lot of pressure on Padrino," said Camacho, who worked alongside the defense minister before being charged with plotting against Maduro鈥檚 government and fleeing Venezuela. 鈥淗e is the one small hope I have left."
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Goodman reported from Caracas, Venezuela. Associated Press writer Jorge Rueda in Caracas contributed to this report.
