29 April was a day of chaos and violence after opposition leader Juan Guaidó called for a military uprising in Caracas and urged supporters to take to the streets to force his rival Nicolás Maduro from power. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said that Maduro had told America that he would leave Venezuela and live as an exile in Cuba and had an airplane on the tarmac, ready to leave: then Russia convinced him to stay. Recently Russian military personnel entered Venezuela to keep its sophisticated S-300 surface-to-air missiles operational despite its crumbling infrastructure and frequent power failures. Also Tareck El Aissami, Maduro’s closest confidant, is being investigated by the intelligence agency about helping Hezbollah militants into the country, partnering with a drug lord, and shielding 140 tons of chemicals to be used for cocaine production - making him a rich man as Venezuela spiralled into poverty. See