The Venezuelan military is a loyal and violent arm of Maduro's government/Photo: Maria Fernandez.

The recent arrests conjure memories of former president Hugo Chavez, who was briefly ousted in an ultimately failed military coup in 2002. However, while disconcerting for the administration, the arrests don’t necessarily mean that Maduro is losing influence amongst his military. Like his predecessor, Maduro has worked hard to establish unfailing loyalty in the armed forces. He has appointed officers to government positions, including his personal Cabinet, and has even given troops their own television station. Maduro has also distributed lavish raises that outrun the country’s crippling inflation, in the hopes of quelling all potential dissent. 

In a recent interview with Neon Tommy, Pato, a professor living in Caracas, Venezuela, noted the Venezuelan military’s role in the recent protests. “The initially peaceful protests on the 12th of February were suppressed by the National Guard, but, instead of discouraging demonstrators, it caused the students to return to the streets more united.” 

Since the first days of protests, the Venezuelan National Guard has been the main culprit of escalating violence, firing rubber bullets, water cannons, smoke, and tear gas into crowds of peaceful student protestors. From her apartment window, Pato has personally witnessed members of the National Guard firing at crowds of students in the street.

Maria Fernandez

Even if the generals the Venezuelan government has arrested were involved in a legitimate coup, most of the military shows no sign of defecting. Government appointments, high salaries, and access to corruption schemes that tend to fly under the government’s radar—with such attractive benefits, military overthrow seems unlikely.