Maduro shows military might on Independence Day

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro oversaw a grand military parade to mark the country's independence day Friday, reveling in his might as commander in chief as the embattled socialist leader comes under mounting criticism for using brutal tactics to crush his opponents.

Maduro applauded and pumped his fist as soldiers marched past, tanks rolled by and fighter jets streaked overhead at a Caracas military base. A unit of camouflaged special forces, guns drawn, shouted their loyalty as they paraded by the presidential reviewing stand.

"We look to the heavens, asking for peace," Maduro said. "All the while our military exercises play out. We plead to God with our missiles pointed."

The parade served as a demonstration of Maduro's continuing support from the military amid a political standoff with opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is trying to oust Maduro and has the backing of more than 50 nations, including the United States.

Guaido, who led a rival march across town Friday, claimed presidential powers in January, at the time drawing throngs of supporters into the streets for demonstrations against Maduro, who has overseen the oil-rich nation's historic collapse. More than 4 million Venezuelans have left the country amid food and medicine shortages and crushing inflation.

As head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, Guaido claims Maduro's election in 2018 to a second, six-year term is illegitimate because the most popular political figures and parties were barred from running.

Maduro refuses to step aside, blaming Venezuela's woes on an economic war against the country led by the Trump administration, and Guaido has not been able to lure a critical mass of soldiers to back him.

In his brief address, Maduro also renewed his call for a dialogue with the opposition. As he spoke, members of Venezuela's militia each held a cardboard box of the type used to distribute government-subsidized food.

Despite the splashy military parade, Maduro has had some defectors. Colombian authorities say a few hundred soldiers have abandoned Maduro in recent months.

Most notably, Maduro's spy chief Gen. Manuel Cristopher Figuera fled after a failed military uprising staged April 30 with Guaido and another popular opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez. Now in the United States, Cristopher Figuera said his mission is to "seek help to free my country from disgrace."

In a sign of increasing international repudiation of Maduro, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Michele Bachelet, issued a scathing report Thursday accusing Venezuela's security forces of nearly 5,300 killings last year.

Venezuelans interviewed by the human rights workers referred to a particular security unit, FAES, as a "death squad" or "extermination group."

Maduro's government has also undermined the rule of law and dismantled democratic institutions, the U.N. reported.

"These measures are aimed at neutralizing, repressing and criminalizing political opponents and people critical of the government," the report stated.

Deputy Foreign Minister William Castillo blasted the report, saying it failed to reflect "the reality in our country." He demanded the report be corrected and said the government would heed "constructive" and "balanced" recommendations.

Across town, Guaido called on Venezuelans to take to the streets with him Friday for demonstrations marking 208 years since Venezuela won its freedom from Spain.

A few thousand joined him, far fewer than the number who turned out at demonstrations earlier this year. They marched toward the headquarters of a military intelligence agency in Caracas, where a day earlier a navy captain opposed to Maduro was tortured to death, according to his wife and attorney.

Grasping a microphone with his shirt sleeves rolled up, Guaido urged the military to join his movement, saying anyone in Venezuela who continues to support this "dictatorship" is an accomplice to human rights abuses.

"We're marching for freedom," Guaido said. "We're turning our outrage into a movement, and we'll be on the streets until we achieve freedom."

The marchers included families, students and members of the clergy. No immediate violence was reported. Previous opposition marches erupted in deadly clashes with police.

Among the demonstrators backing Guaido was Melquiades Rosales, whose small business selling shower doors is failing. As a symbol of the country's mourning, Rosales waved a Venezuelan flag made with shades of gray instead of the original vibrant yellow, blue and red.

"So many of us are filled with hopelessness," Rosales said, adding he hasn't given up. "But we're in this for a long-term fight. This dictatorship is so well-rooted in all the institutions."