The link to protests of course is failure to sell oil results in a need to inflate currency to finance debt.
I also think they've been squeezed from prior operations that lead up to Maduro's arrest.
Discussion
They're not uprising for anyone else. Almost all real uprisings that have actual force aren't for someone else -- those usually just cause a little chaos and make headlines to shape propaganda.
Real uprisings are almost universally to address one's OWN situation. Iran's collapsing economy being a perfect motivator to get people rising up in more than symbolic fashion.
And sure, I'm sure aided by some intelligence agencies.
Agencies that would love to install a puppet dictator I’m sure