2019 Venezuelan uprising attempt

On 30 April 2019, during the Venezuelan presidential crisis, a group of several dozen military personnel and civilians joined Juan Guaidó in his call for the removal of Nicolás Maduro as part of what he labeled "Operation Freedom" (Spanish: Operación Libertad). Reuters reported an "uneasy peace" by the afternoon of 30 April. During the unrest, opposition leader Leopoldo López was freed from house arrest after being imprisoned for five years. Manuel Cristopher Figuera, the head of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, denounced the Maduro government and was dismissed from his position before going into hiding. At least 25 military men who opposed Maduro sought asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.

In a joint statement, the Lima Group shared support for Guaidó and called for Maduro's exit. Maduro, along with some academics and media outlets, described the actions of Guaidó and his allies as an attempted coup d'état, while other media organizations described the actions as an uprising. Maduro expelled 54 members from the military and the head of intelligence who publicly backed Guaidó. Guaidó's efforts to persuade senior military officials to join his movement failed, with Guaidó stating that going forward, protests would be held every day until Maduro stepped down from power. Guaidó called for his supporters and the country's armed forces to take to the streets again the following day.

By 2 May, four people were killed in the ensuing clashes between opposition protesters and militants on one side, and pro-government protesters and the Venezuelan armed forces on the other. Some National Assembly members had their immunity lifted and were indicted afterwards; several of those indicted, while others went into hiding. Additionally, the National Assembly vice-president Edgar Zambrano was later arrested.