Coup Atlas Research Database
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10102122015ConspiracyMilitary coup

Venezuela, 2015 — military coup conspiracy

Venezuela (VEN)South America, AmericasFebruary 12, 2015

Event Summary

This entry is coded 12 February 2015, corresponding to the alleged February 2015 coup plot against President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, known as the Blue Coup or Golpe Azul, an offshoot of the earlier Operation Jericho air force plot. On 12 February 2015 the government said it had foiled a plot in which a group of military officers planned to use a Tucano aircraft to bomb the Miraflores presidential palace and other strategic targets in Caracas and to assassinate Maduro during Youth Day commemorations, then broadcast a pre-recorded video of a general announcing the military's overthrow of the government. The plot was reported to be linked to the 2014 Operation Jericho conspiracy, in which more than thirty mostly air force officers had been arrested for planning to sow rebellion in the armed forces.

Opposition politicians Leopoldo Lopez, Maria Corina Machado, and Antonio Ledezma were tied to the plan, having signed a call for a national transition agreement a day before the plot's scheduled date, and the government alleged United States backing. The 12 February 2015 coding matches the announcement of the foiled Blue Coup.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Maduro's government said it foiled the Blue Coup and arrested officers and an opposition mayor
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
President Nicolas Maduro (target)
General Oswaldo Hernandez and allied air force officers
opposition figures Lopez, Machado, and Ledezma (linked)

Sources

On 12 February 2015 a failed coup attempt known as Golpe Azul or Operation Jericho involved a plan to use a Tucano aircraft to attack the Miraflores Palace, or wherever the president was, during the commemorative events held for Youth Day.
SOURCE REVIEWED Orinoco Tribune: Special Timeline of Political Violence in Venezuela (2002-2024) open source ↗
General Oswaldo Hernandez was involved in 2015's Blue Coup, having pre-recorded a message announcing the military's overthrow of the Maduro government to be played after the plotters assassinated the president and bombed multiple strategic targets in Caracas.
SOURCE REVIEWED RT: 9 Venezuelan military officers sentenced for Operation Jericho coup plot open source ↗
The Blue Coup is reported to be an offshoot of 2014's Operation Jericho, and opposition politicians Leopoldo Lopez, Maria Corina Machado, and Antonio Ledezma were linked to it, having signed and released a Call for a National Transition Agreement just 24 hours before the Blue Coup was scheduled to take place.
SOURCE REVIEWED Venezuelanalysis: Operation Jericho Airforce Officials Sentenced open source ↗
Over 30 military officials were arrested in connection with Operation Jericho during March and April 2014, in a plot that envisaged military detachments arresting Maduro and other high-ranking officials in the hope of inciting a citizens' revolt.
SOURCE REVIEWED RT: 9 Venezuelan military officers sentenced for Operation Jericho coup plot open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 12 Feb 2015 matches the announcement of the foiled Blue Coup / Golpe Azul (offshoot of the 2014 Operation Jericho plot). Verified as a discrete event; the government alleged opposition and US involvement. First Venezuela record in the run.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
10102122015

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Maduro's government said it foiled the Blue Coup and arrested officers and an opposition mayor.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Wall Street Journal

“Venezuela Defense Chief Pledges Loyalty as Government Says Coup Plot Foiled; Air Force General, Several Others Arrested in Latest Accusation of Conspiracy Against Government,” February 14, 2015

The Guardian

“Journal: Letter: Venezuela S coup plot must be condemned,” February 19, 2015

The Economist

“A slow-motion coup; Venezuela’s crackdown,” February 28, 2015

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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