Caracas, February 26 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Venezuelan National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello presented evidence in a televised broadcast on Wednesday regarding the coup plot thwarted earlier this month.
Accompanied by the Mayor of the Caracas municipality of Libertador, Jorge Rodriguez, Cabello released recordings of testimony of one of the detained military officers, who confessed to his involvement in the coup plot and confirmed that he was offered visas by the embassies of the United States and the U.K.
In addition to the detailed confessions of the air force official –- who was recruited to fly a plane that was to bomb key military and media targets in Caracas –- evidence was introduced of intercepted telephone conversations with leaders of the opposition COPEI party speaking about their participation in the plot.
In the first military official's confession, he claims that the plans for the coup had been in motion since “last year.” In terms of the planned date for the coup, he said there wasn’t one particularly, but that they were looking at Carnival time –- a time when Venezuelans traditionally go to the beach and go on vacation. He also mentions a video that was aimed at “waking up” military officers. The second solider refers to sending the video to Venezuelan journalist Patricia Poleo, as well as to a foreign news channel.
COPEI's President Antonio Ecarri and Party Secretary Rogelio Diaz can also be heard discussing a 'transition plan' that would have paved the way for a new government after the violent overthrow of Venezuela's democratically elected president, Nicolas Maduro.