Los golpistas

Three years after being sworn in as president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez was deposed in a military coup, accused of wanting to establish a communist dictatorship. After arresting him and demanding he sign a resignation that Chávez refused to validate, the military leaders were at a loss as to what to do with the ousted president and who should assume power in his place. Venezuelan generals debated whether to kill Chávez, accusing him of treason, send him on a flight to Havana, or subject him to a summary trial and imprison him for life. Meanwhile, a provisional government, led by prominent businessmen and blessed by the heads of the Catholic Church, hastily took office, dissolving all branches of government. Amid the chaos and confusion, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro used the telephone to insult, threaten, and intimidate the coup leaders and to tell his friend Chávez not to take his own life or allow himself to be killed, but to escape to Cuba. Why didn't the conspirators manage to assassinate Chávez? Why didn't the plane that was supposed to take him to Havana take off? How did the ambushed president save his life not once, but several times?