CNN and the BBC were quickly taken off the air in Venezuela on Tuesday by the government amid an apparent coup by forces loyal to National Assembly Leader Juan Guaidó.

As reported by CNN, "DirecTV, Net Uno, Intercable, and Telefónica all received orders from Venezuela's government regulator Conatel to block CNN. (DirecTV and CNN are both owned by AT&T.)" while a spokesperson from the BBC told CNN that BBS Global News had been similarly taken off air by the South American country.

Momento exacto cuando el gobierno dictador saca del aire a CNN (en inglés) de la parrilla de programación por cable (canal 706) y censura aún más con Conatel.



¿Alguno tiene duda de que la libertad de expresión no existe en Venezuela? pic.twitter.com/WR0XReOWNW — Jhomar Lóp[e]z (@JhomarLopez) April 30, 2019

Earlier Tuesday, CNN broadcast footage of military vehicles running over protesters in the capital city of Caracas.

🇻🇪 | REBELIÓN EN VENEZUELA: Tanquetas militares arrollan a grupo de manifestantes en Caracas: pic.twitter.com/BLirOAoFkP — Alerta News 24 (@AlertaNews24) April 30, 2019

Meanwhile US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claims that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was willing to leave the country for Cuba, only to be talked out of it by Russia.

"We've watched throughout the day, it's been a long time since anyone's seen Maduro," said Pompeo in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

"He had an airplane on the tarmac, he was ready to leave this morning as we understand it and the Russians indicated he should stay," he added, noting "He was headed for Havana."