Did Iran Aid Venezuela's Maduro Government?

Articles: https://www.i24news.tv/en Live: https://video.i24news.tv/page/live?cl... Replay: https://video.i24news.tv/page/5a97b81... Facebook:   / i24newsen   Twitter:   / i24news_en   Instagram:   / i24news   THE RUNDOWN | As the humanitarian and political crisis continues, international interests in the country's oil are coming to the forefront. Our Bianca explores how Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah have decades long ties to Latina America and to the Venezuelan government in particular.  Story:  Venezuelan opposition announced that two more protesters had died in clashes between protesters and government forces on Thursday, bringing the death toll to four since the US-supported opposition leader Juan Guaido announced a coup attempt on Tuesday. The two died after following gunshot wounds. 14-year-old Yoifre Hernandez died during May Day clashes in Caracas, while the other, Yosner Graterol, 16, died after he was shot during unrest in the northern town of La Victoria on Tuesday. Guaido had called on the military to rebel against the Maduro government on Tuesday, accompanied by a small group of soldiers, and exhorted all Venezuelans to come onto the streets on the occasion of May Day on Wednesday. The protests were met with a violent response, with security forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets at stone-throwing protesters on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Footage of military vehicles running over protesters, and bloody pictures of the injured surfaced on social media, as more and more were reported wounded. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday called on the armed forces to oppose "any coup plotter" after a failed military uprising by forces supporting opposition leader Juan Guaido. "Yes, we are in combat, keep morale high in this fight to disarm any traitor, any coup plotter," Maduro said at a televised event with the military high command in which he appeared surrounded by soldiers. "No one can be afraid, it is the hour to defend our right to peace," he said at a ceremony on La Carlotta air base, the place where Juan Guaido had called for the military to join in his attempt to bring down the Maduro administration. According to the government, 4,500 military personnel were present.  "We've come to ratify our loyalty ... to the supreme commander of the armed forces, who is our only president, President Nicolas Maduro," said Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino at Thursday morning's military event, describing Guaido's move as "child play." Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido, who heads the National Assembly legislature, invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate. Guaido rallied his supporters in the capital Caracas on Wednesday following the failure to spark a mass insurrection in the military the day before. "We're going to remain in the streets until we achieve freedom for the Venezuelan people," Guaido told supporters. He said staggered industrial action would begin on Thursday, leading to a general strike. Guaido, recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president, while Maduro retains powerful allies in Russia, China, Cuba and Turkey. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned Venezuela's authorities not to use deadly force against demonstrators, while the US and Russia accused each other of making the crisis worse, evoking Cold War confrontations of the past. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov exchanged thinly veiled threats in a phone call on Wednesday, blaming each other's government policies for destabilizing the oil-rich South American country.