CARACAS, Venezuela • Venezuela’s top military brass pledged their unwavering support for embattled President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday, delivering vows of loyalty before rows of green-uniformed officers on state television.

A half-dozen generals belonging largely to district commands and with direct control over thousands of troops joined Maduro in accusing the United States of meddling in Venezuela’s affairs and said they would uphold the socialist leader’s rule. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, a key Maduro ally, later delivered his own proclamation, dismissing efforts to install a “de-facto parallel government” as tantamount to a coup.

“It’s not a war between Venezuelans that will solve our problems,” he said. “It’s dialogue.”

Venezuelans are heading into uncharted political waters after the young leader of a newly united opposition claimed Wednesday to hold the presidency and Maduro dug in for a fight with the Trump administration. All eyes have been on the military, a traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela, as a critical indicator of whether the opposition will succeed in establishing a new government.

Life in the capital, Caracas, appeared to be returning to normal Thursday after mass anti-government demonstrations a day earlier that left at least a dozen dead in the escalating conflict with Maduro, who has been increasingly accused of undemocratic behavior by the United States and many other nations in the region. Stores in some areas were reopening but remained shuttered in others.

Juan Guaido, the 35-year-old leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, turned up the heat by declaring himself interim president on Wednesday before a mass of demonstrators in Caracas.

A man walks past graffiti on the wall of a vacant lot Thursday in Caracas, Venezuela, that reads in Spanish: “Get out Maduro,” referring to President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelans headed into uncharted political waters with opposition to Maduro.

the associated press