 April 13th marked 20 years since the people of Venezuela defeated the US-backed right-wing coup against the democratically elected socialist President Hugo Chavez. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans flooded the streets of the capital Caracas to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the historic victory of the people against the imperialist coup. Citizens, members of political organisations, social movements and trade unions gathered in various parts of Caracas and marched in the Miraflores Presidential Palace to pay tribute to the civic military uprising that beat the coup, rescued Chavez and reinstated constitutional order in the country. What happened in 2002? On April 11th 2002, a group of civilians and a small section of the Venezuelan armed forces, backed by the right-wing opposition, the oligarchy and the church and supported by private media, organised a coup against Hugo Chavez. Members of this opposition surrounded the Miraflores Palace and attacked a gathering of Chavez stars. In the midst of the chaos, the coup-supporting soldiers arrested Chavez and took him hostage. With the support of international and imperialist powers such as the United States, the coup plotters immediately declared Pedro Carmona as the interim president of Venezuela. Carmona was a businessman and the president of the chambers of commerce. He dissolved the National Assembly and the Supreme Court's suspended constitutional rights, declared the country's newly adopted inclusive and social 1999 constitution void and unleashed harsh repression. Nevertheless, the determined Venezuelan people took to the streets to reject the coup and defend their revolutionary leader. Chavez's supporters and soldiers loyal to him en masse surrounded the presidential palace, seized television stations and demanded his return. In only 47 hours, they succeeded in neutralising the right-wing's destabilisation attempt and restoring democracy in the country. On the night of April 13th, Carmona was forced to resign and Chavez returned to Miraflores surrounded by a cheering crowd. The failed coup was the first victory of the Venezuelan people against U.S. imperialism in the 21st century. It marked the beginning of the resistance of Venezuelans against the U.S. attacks which continues to this day. For the past 20 years, Venezuelans have been defending Chavez's Bolivarian Revolution, braving the impacts of the U.S. commercial, economic and financial sanctions. President Nicolas Maduro Chavez's successor addressed the crowds during Wednesday's rally. He stressed that the civic military union was the key to defeating the 2002 coup. He said on April 13th, 2002, it was the united homeland that rescued Chavez in that people's revolution.