Despite claims to the contrary by the opposition, Venezuela’s current President Nicolas Maduro, has been awarded the victory in the election. The declaration of Maduro’s win triggered multiple protests and riots by opposition supporters, who insist the election was rigged. America’s far-left institution, The Carter Institution, claims the election was totally legitimate.
The election is about whether Venezuela will be de facto ruled through an American proxy, the challenger, or a Chinese-Russian proxy, Maduro. In this instance, the Russian-Chinese axis appears to have won, as their courts have certified the election, and the opposition is now facing charges, arrests, and imprisonment.
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Excerpt from news.google.com
U.S. dismisses Venezuelan high court’s certification of disputed election results
The United States on Friday joined a chorus of protest dismissing a decision by Venezuela’s supreme court upholding disputed results claiming Nicolas Maduro to be the winner of last month’s presidential election.
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said Thursday’s ruling by the Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice backing Maduro’s win over democratic opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez “lacks all credibility.”
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Excerpt from Associated Press
EU: Maduro has not shown ‘necessary public evidence’ to declare victory in Venezuela elections
The European Union’s top diplomat on Saturday said that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has still “not provided the necessary public evidence” to prove he was the winner of July’s elections, days after the country’s Supreme Court backed the government’s disputed claims of victory.
The bloc joined a slate of other Latin American countries and the United States in rejecting the Venezuelan high court’s certification. Authorities repeated calls for Maduro to release the election’s official tally sheets, considered the one verifiable vote count in Venezuela as they are almost impossible to replicate.
“Only complete and independently verifiable results will be accepted and recognized,” Josep Borrell, the high representative of the EU, said in a statement.
Borrell’s comments came as the leaders of Brazil and Colombia also demanded the release of the tallies, saying on Saturday the “credibility of the electoral process can only be restored through the transparent publication of disaggregated and verifiable data.”
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Excerpt from Cuba Headlines
Brazil and Colombia Reject Nicolás Maduro’s Election Following Supreme Court Ruling
The presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Colombia, Gustavo Petro, have expressed their concern over the lack of transparency in the recent presidential elections in Venezuela and urged the Venezuelan government to release detailed and verifiable election data to restore the credibility of the process.
During two days of phone conversations, the leaders discussed the situation in Venezuela and concluded that political normalization in the country can only be achieved through peaceful dialogue and the recognition of democratic diversity. Both leaders, along with Mexico, offered themselves as mediators in the Venezuelan crisis but have not recognized Nicolás Maduro as the elected president, despite the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) ratifying him as the winner without presenting evidence.
Lula da Silva and Petro called on all parties involved to avoid acts of violence and repression. Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador distanced himself from these two countries a few days ago, stating that he would wait for the TSJ’s ruling before taking a stance on the issue. As neighboring countries directly affected by Venezuela’s instability, Brazil and Colombia remain active mediators and reiterate their willingness to facilitate understanding between the conflicting parties.
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Excerpt from St. Kitts-Nevis Observer
Venezuela’s Highest Court Upholds Nicolas Maduro’s Reelection, Does Not Publish Full Vote Count
Venezuela’s highest court has ratified the controversial re-election of Nicolás Maduro as president in spite of allegations of widespread voter fraud in July’s poll, however the full vote count has not been published.
The decision by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice comes as United Nations voting experts warned that the court lacked independence and impartiality.
The court said it had reviewed material from the country’s election authority, which said Mr Maduro had won just over half of the vote, and agreed he had been victorious. However the materials reviewed have not been made public.
The US State Department has said: “The National Electoral Council’s rapid declaration of Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the presidential election came with no supporting evidence. The CNE still has not published disaggregated data or any of the vote tally sheets, despite repeated calls from Venezuelans and the international community to do so.”
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Excerpt from Financial Times
Venezuela’s top court certifies Maduro’s disputed election victory
Venezuela’s government-controlled supreme court has ratified Nicolás Maduro’s disputed election victory amid an ongoing political crisis and crackdown on dissent.
Maduro, a revolutionary socialist in power since 2013, was declared the winner of the July 28 presidential election, though the National Electoral Council, also controlled by his allies, has not published a detailed breakdown of the results.
The opposition said its candidate, retired diplomat Edmundo González, was the real winner by a margin of two to one, and published thousands of voting tally receipts as evidence. Maduro deferred the dispute to the supreme court, which is controlled by officials from the ruling socialist party.
Protests broke out following the election, including in poor neighbourhoods once considered bastions of government support, though they were swiftly put down by Venezuela’s feared security services, with more than 1,500 people since arrested, according to rights group Foro Penal.
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Excerpt from Columbia Gorge News
Venezuela opposition candidate due in court over election dispute
Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was hit with a fresh summons after failing to appear before prosecutors Monday as part of a probe into his claim that he was the rightful victor of last month’s presidential election.
Gonzalez Urrutia, 74, has been in hiding since after the election amid threats of arrest from President Nicolas Maduro, whose contested victory has plunged the oil-rich Latin American nation into crisis.
Late Sunday, Gonzalez Urrutia said in a video published on social media that he had been summoned “without guarantees” of due process, accusing Attorney General Tarek William Saab of bias.
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Excerpt from Watauga Democrat
Venezuela prosecutors summon opposition candidate amid vote dispute
Venezuelan prosecutors have summoned opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia for questioning Monday as part of a criminal investigation following the country’s disputed presidential election claimed by strongman Nicolas Maduro.
“Citizen Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia” is summoned “on August 26 at 10 am for an interview,” prosecutors said Saturday, as part of an investigation into the opposition’s publishing of electoral records which it claims show Maduro was clearly defeated.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab, who is considered a Maduro ally, had foreshadowed the summoning Friday, saying Gonzalez Urrutia would have to explain his “disobedience” of the authorities.
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Excerpt from The Strait Times
Venezuela opposition beset by mounting legal challenges after disputed election
Venezuela’s legal system mounted more challenges against the country’s political opposition on Wednesday, as the candidate the alliance says won the July 28 election was ruled in contempt of court and now faces imprisonment.
The head of Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled Edmundo Gonzalez, who says he beat President Nicolas Maduro in the vote, was in contempt of court after refusing to answer a summons to attend what it said was a certification of the results.
Gonzalez, a 74-year-old former diplomat, could face up to 30 days in jail for contempt, lawyers said. Numerous Venezuelan opposition leaders have faced arrest and imprisonment or fled into exile in recent years.
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Excerpt from La Croix
Opposition in Venezuela deems Maduro’s reelection ‘null and void’
The Venezuelan opposition stated in an open letter that it would consider any potential Supreme Court ruling certifying the validity of President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection as “null and void.”
The socialist leader was declared the winner of the July 28 presidential election by the National Electoral Council (CNE). However, the CNE has not released the detailed vote count, claiming that its system was hacked. The opposition denounced the results as fraudulent and claimed victory for its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
Nicolás Maduro, who continuously asserted that he is facing an attempted “coup,” has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court—widely regarded by observers as being under the control of the government—to have his victory validated.
“Any potential ruling by the Electoral Chamber (of the Supreme Court) that might validate the electoral fraud being imposed would be null and void,” read the letter published August 21 and circulated on social media by opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
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Excerpt from NBC News
Latin American effort to mediate Venezuela standoff loses steam as Maduro consolidates rule
It was a rare diplomatic gamble when the three leaders of Latin America’s largest democracies inserted themselves into the high-stakes standoff between Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and his opponents over who won the country’s presidential election.
Dubbed the three amigos — all dyed-in-the-wool leftists who have been friendly with Maduro — the presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico broke from decades of hands-off diplomacy toward Venezuela and their own reluctance to meddle in a neighbor’s sovereign affairs in a region where U.S. military interventions during the Cold War still generate resentment.
But some experts say the peacemaking effort is losing steam before barely getting off the ground.
They cite misgivings by Mexico’s outgoing president, divisions among Latin America’s left and pressure from the U.S. on Maduro to recognize defeat and step aside. The main outcome so far, they say, has been to grant Maduro precious time to consolidate his rule and jail more opponents since the July 28 vote.
“The mediation effort is cautious, focusing on avoiding conflict and a new migration wave rather than defending democracy,” said Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez, a Venezuelan born analyst and founder of Aurora Macro Strategies, a geopolitical risk consulting firm based in New York.
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Excerpt from CNN
Venezuela’s ‘little commandos’ took on Maduro. Now they may be leading a new wave of migration
They were the self-styled political “commandos” with aspirations of bringing down the authoritarian government of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro. Now, the opposition says, hundreds of its activists and electoral witnesses are fleeing the country amid the fallout from last month’s contested presidential election.
CNN spoke to about half a dozen Venezuelans who have fled their country in the past month, some swapping clothes or hiding between bushes on their way to safety. Many migrated illegally, moving at night, and hiding during the day to avoid being stopped at dozens of checkpoints set up by Venezuelan government forces. Others said they were waved past by officers they believed to be sympathetic to the opposition’s cause. Most asked for their interviews to remain anonymous fearing government forces could go after their loved ones if they realized they had left the country.
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Excerpt from Reuters Canada
Venezuelan journalist released after being charged with terrorism, union says
A well-known Venezuelan entertainment journalist arrested in Caracas over the weekend has been released, a media union said on Monday, but she faces terrorism charges as the fallout from the country’s disputed July 28 presidential election widens.
Carmela Longo, who until last week worked at the pro-government Ultimas Noticias newspaper, was arrested on Sunday after her house was raided by police, the National Union of Press Workers of Venezuela (SNTP) said on the X social media site.
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Excerpt from The Gazette
Dozens forced to quit Venezuela’s PDVSA over political views, workers say
Over a hundred employees at Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, plus others in the oil ministry and parts of the public sector, have been forced to resign over their political views since last month’s disputed election, workers and unions said.
The government says President Nicolas Maduro won a third term in the July 28 contest, but the opposition says partial vote tallies indicate its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won a resounding victory.
Top PDVSA executives have instructed administrative and operational workers to attend rallies backing Maduro and supervised their social media accounts, according to four company sources and a union leader.
Employees who have not supported Maduro or have disputed the official voting results are being pushed out, they said.
“They call you to human resources, sit you down, and give you a resignation letter you must sign,” a source familiar with the situation said.
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Excerpt from news.google.com
Venezuela’s Maduro Dismisses Power Sharing, New Election Proposals
Mexico City, Mexico, August 19, 2024 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro rejected proposals for a power-sharing agreement with the opposition and the possibility of holding new presidential elections, calling instead for respect for the country’s institutions and for the ongoing review by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ).
The suggestions came from neighboring presidents, Colombia’s Gustavo Petro and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, respectively. Together with Mexico, the countries have self-appointed themselves as mediators in the ongoing post-electoral dispute in Venezuela, with US backing.
Maduro outright brushed off the suggestions, viewing them as an affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty, repeating his assertion on Monday.
“Venezuela is not an intervened country, nor do we have guardians. We do not interfere in anyone’s internal affairs,” said the Venezuelan president in a televised broadcast.
On Thursday, Petro suggested in a social media post that Colombia’s experience with the National Front governments, which saw the Liberal and Conservative parties agree to a power-sharing agreement between 1958 and 1974, could provide a model for Venezuela amidst opposition claims of fraud in the July 28 election.
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Excerpt from Voice of America
Venezuela opposition candidate asks Maduro to ‘step aside’
Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who has claimed he defeated Nicolas Maduro in last month’s election, said Monday he was ready to negotiate a transition — and asked the incumbent to “step aside.”
“Mr. Nicolas Maduro, respect what all Venezuelans have decided… You and your government should step aside… I am ready for dialogue,” Gonzalez Urrutia, a retired diplomat, said in a video message posted on social media.
“Every day that you hinder the democratic transition, Venezuelans suffer from a country in crisis, and without freedom. Clinging to power only makes the suffering of our people worse. Our time has come.”
Since the contested election, Gonzalez Urrutia and fellow opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running herself, have been in hiding as prosecutors have opened an investigation against both of them.
Gonzalez Urrutia has not been seen publicly in weeks, while Machado appeared at an opposition rally in Caracas on Saturday.
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Excerpt from Reuters
US, Brazil float new Venezuela election despite government, opposition rebuffs
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday seemingly backed a new election in Venezuela, after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also floated the idea, despite rebuffs from Venezuela’s ruling party and its opposition which
both claim victory in the July 28 contest.
Biden spoke to reporters in the wake of Lula’s suggestion that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro could call a new contest involving international observers as a potential solution for the political crisis in the country. The U.S. has
rejected Madura’s victory claim.
Asked if he supports a new election in Venezuela, Biden said “I do”.
A National Security Council spokesperson later said Biden was “speaking to the absurdity of Maduro and his representatives not coming clean about the July 28 elections,” without fully walking back Biden’s comment.
The spokesperson added it is “abundantly clear” that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won the election.
A U.S. official, speaking on background, said the U.S. position had not changed and the vast majority of countries in the region were asking Maduro to release the results and recognize the outcome of the election.
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Excerpt from news.google.com
‘No evidence’ Venezuela vote hacked, Carter Center election monitor says
There is no evidence that Venezuela’s electoral system was the target of a cyberattack during elections last month, the head of the Carter Center’s observation mission told AFP, confirming figures that give the opposition candidate a victory.
On election night, the president of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), Elvis Amoroso, declared a win for President Nicolas Maduro without providing data from polling stations, stating that the CNE had been the victim of a computer attack.
“We have no evidence of that whatsoever,” Jennie Lincoln, head of the Carter Center delegation that was invited to monitor the Venezuela election, told AFP.
The CNE has not published detailed results from the vote and claims the delay is due to a hack, while Maduro has denounced what he calls a “criminal cyber-fascist coup d’etat.”
“There are companies that monitor and know when there is a denial of service, that there was no denial of service in Venezuela on an election day or election night,” Lincoln said, speaking from Atlanta, Georgia, where the center is located.
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Excerpt from news.google.com
Venezuela’s neighbors have troubling strategy
In the wake of Edmundo González’s landslide victory over Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential elections and the Maduro regime’s subsequent crackdown, moves by the leaders of Brazil and Colombia to find a way forward diplomatically have been troubling from the start in their deference to Maduro.
Now, by proposing that Venezuela carry out a second election, Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro have thoroughly discredited their efforts and have shown why it is essential that the United States reassert its leadership on Venezuela.
In an election that was neither free nor fair, the Venezuelan people voted overwhelmingly for González. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people assisted in carefully planned election observation efforts that allowed the opposition to break through the regime’s secrecy and make public the voting tallies for a large majority of polling stations. Still, the Maduro regime declared victory while cracking down on opposition leaders, unleashing its collective militias on adversaries, and silencing political discussion.
Last Friday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights condemned Venezuela over its state terrorism practices, including violent repression, arbitrary detentions and political prosecutions. The regime’s repression has resulted in at least 1,300 detainees and 24 deaths.
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Excerpt from news.google.com
Chile Blasts Venezuela Over Rights Abuses and Electoral ‘Fraud’
Chilean President Gabriel Boric accused Nicolas Maduro of trying to steal Venezuela’s election and said his administration is violating human rights, ratcheting up global criticism of last month’s contested vote.
“I have no doubt that Maduro’s regime has tried to commit fraud,” Boric told reporters Wednesday at the presidential palace in Santiago. “If not, then they would have shown the voting records. Why haven’t they done so? If they had clearly won, then they would have shown the records.”
Maduro’s administration is now committing “serious” human rights violations by oppressing protesters, Boric added. Chile’s government neither trusts the independence nor the impartiality of Venezuelan institutions, he said.
“Chile doesn’t recognize Maduro’s self-proclaimed triumph,” Boric said. “We won’t validate results that haven’t been verified by international organizations that are independent from the regime.”
Since taking office in 2022, Boric has spoken out against international human rights violations from Gaza to Ukraine and Nicaragua. He was one of the first heads of state to question the outcome of Venezuela’s election, saying shortly after the initial results were released that the Maduro victory was “hard to believe.”
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Excerpt from news.google.com
- Venezuela’s Strongman Was Confident of Victory. Then Came the Shock. The New York Times
- Maduro lost election, tallies collected by Venezuela’s opposition show The Washington Post
- Venezuela’s opposition trounced Maduro, election receipts show The Hill
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Excerpt from www.yahoo.com
Brazil, Colombia and Mexico in talks with Venezuelan government and opposition on election crisis
Since Venezuela’s disputed presidential election nine days ago, officials from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have been in constant contact with representatives of both Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and opposition candidate Edmundo González, seeking a solution to the country’s political crisis.
The three nations, whose current leftist presidents are Maduro allies, are holding conversations with both sides, a senior Mexican official who has been part of the discussions told The Associated Press. The official declined to characterize that as formal mediation.
The three countries are recommending that the government and the opposition follow Venezuelan laws and appear before the appropriate institutions to appeal any part of the process, the official said. That recommendation, however, is a tall ask for the opposition, because Venezuela’s ruling party controls every aspect of government, including the justice system, and uses it to defeat and repress real and perceived opponents
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Excerpt from news.google.com
Venezuela’s top prosecutor announces criminal probe against opposition leaders González, Machado
Venezuela’s top prosecutor on Monday announced a criminal investigation against the opposition’s presidential candidate Edmundo González and its leader Maria Corina Machado over their call on the armed forces to abandon their support for President Nicolás Maduro and to stop repressing demonstrators.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab’s statement tied the investigation directly to a written appeal the two members of the opposition sent hours earlier about Maduro and the demonstrators who have come out in force to defend their votes in the July 28 election.
Saab, in a written announcement posted on the social media site X, said the duo “falsely announced a winner of the presidential election other than the one proclaimed by the National Electoral Council, the only body qualified to do so” and they openly incited “police and military officials to disobey the laws.”
Gonzalez’s and Machado’s written appeal shows the alleged commission of various crimes including usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information to cause fear and conspiracy, Saab said.
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Excerpt from news.google.com
Opposition leader joins rally calling for Venezuela presidential election results to be overturned
Thousands of people rallied in the streets of Venezuela’s capital Saturday, waving the national flag and singing the national anthem in support of an opposition candidate they believe won the presidential election by a landslide.
Authorities have declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner of last Sunday’s election but have yet to produce voting tallies to prove he won. Maduro also urged his backers to attend his own “mother of all marches” later Saturday in Caracas.
The government arrested hundreds of opposition supporters who took to the streets in the days after the disputed poll, and the president and his cadres have threatened to also lock up opposition leader María Corina Machado, and her hand-picked presidential candidate, Edmundo González.
On Saturday, supporters chanted and sang as Machado arrived at the rally in Caracas. Ecstatic, they crushed around her as she climbed onto a raised platform on a truck to address the crowd.
“After six days of brutal repression, they thought they were going to silence us, intimidate or paralyze us,” she told them. “The presence of every one of you here today represents the best of Venezuela.”
Machado, who has been barred by Maduro’s government from running for office for 15 years, had been in hiding since Tuesday, saying her life and freedom are at risk. Masked assailants ransacked the opposition’s headquarters on Friday, taking documents and vandalizing the space.
On Saturday, she held aloft a Venezuelan flag and promised that the government whose policies forced millions of Venezuelans to leave was finally coming to an end.
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Excerpt from news.google.com
Millions of Venezuelans went to the polls to vote their widely loathed authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro out of power last Sunday – but Tibisay Betancourt was not one of them.
“I voted for him,” said the 60-year-old masseuse, a loyal supporter of the president’s Chavista movement who lives in a housing estate apartment given to her by Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chávez.
Within hours of casting her vote, Betancourt had cause to rue her choice. As turmoil gripped the streets of Caracas after Maduro’s disputed claim to have won the election, she sent her son, Alfredo Alejandro Rondón, to a nearby shop to buy a bottle of Sprite for his sick father. Minutes later his brother, Yorluis, said he had seen Alfredo being beaten and dragged away by members of the Bolivarian national police.
By Thursday morning, the high school graduate was one of hundreds of prisoners languishing behind bars at a police base on the east side of town, facing possible terrorism charges that could land him in jail for up to 30 years.
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Excerpt from news.google.com
The Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro has vowed to “pulverise” the latest challenge to his rule and told troops he is “willing to do anything” to protect his “revolution” amid growing criticism of the crackdown that followed last week’s disputed election.
Maduro says more than 2,000 people have been arrested in the days since the 28 July vote while human rights groups say at least 22 people have been killed.
On Sunday, the EU said it was “seriously concerned” about the growing number of arbitrary detentions in Venezuela and the harassment of the opposition, which has produced evidence suggesting its candidate, Edmundo González, won the election.
“The European Union calls on Venezuelan authorities to put an end to arbitrary detentions, repression and violent rhetoric against members of the opposition and civil society, and to release all political prisoners,” the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in a statement.
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Excerpt from news.google.com
Brazil announced a diplomatic agreement on Monday that will allow it to represent the interests of Argentina and Peru in Caracas, after Venezuela severed ties with the two nations following its contested presidential vote.
Brazil’s government, like Colombia and Mexico, has called for the release of full voting results following Venezuela’s July 28 election. But Venezuela’s electoral authorities have so far failed to do so while the country’s electoral authority has proclaimed that President Nicolas Maduro won re-election to a third term.
Venezuela ejected diplomats from both Argentina and Peru late last week, after their governments recognised opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the election winner.
Under the deal between Brazil and Venezuela, which takes effect from Monday, Brazil’s embassy in Caracas is given custody over the diplomatic offices belonging to Argentina and Peru in Venezuela, including properties and files, according to a joint statement.
A Brazilian official told Reuters last week that Brazil will play the role of mediator on issues pertaining to Argentina and Peru regarding their citizens in Venezuela.
In addition to Argentina and Peru, diplomats representing Chile, Uruguay, Panama, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic have also left Venezuela, after those governments also recognised Gonzalez as the winner.
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Excerpt from www.foxnews.com
Argentinian President Javier Milei has emerged as a powerful ally of the Venezuelan anti-government protests as international pressure mounts to award the recent presidential election to the opposition.
Leaders from around the world, including the U.S., have cast doubt on Nicolas Maduro’s claim that he won the election, and protesters have clashed with police in the streets of the embattled South American nation.
“He’s been very, very helpful, and he has been kind of like a rallying voice in South America to allow him, along with the left, the opposition of healing work and kind of pushing other democracies to recognize Edmundo as president,” Daniel Acosta Rivas, an OSINT Analyst, told Fox News Digital.
Rivas said that Milei’s vocal support has “been coming into Venezuela and especially in the diaspora.”
Milei was among the first world leaders to speak out after the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council handed victory to the incumbent with an alleged margin of 51%, compared to 44% support for the opposition. Pre-election polling (which is illegal in the country) indicated that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received double the votes of Maduro.
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Excerpt from www.theblaze.com
How Venezuela’s communist government is using tech surveillance to cling to power
Protests and upheaval have roiled Venezuela following a contested election on July 28. Incumbent leader Nicolas Maduro claims victory by a margin of 51% to 44%, while his opponent leader, Edmundo Gonzalez, says his coalition garnered 66% of the vote. It’s worth noting that Gonzalez was 25 points up in polls through most of July.
The United States has officially recognized Gonzalez as the victor, joining a chorus of international criticism of the election’s lack of transparency.
Reports detail at least 15 protesters killed so far by Venezuelan authorities, including a teenager who stopped to watch the protests on the way back from a party. There have been at least 39 injuries reported, and over 1,000 protesters have been arrested.
The internet has led to significant democratization in many ways simultaneously, as it has allowed the rise of technocracy and autocratic governments to clamp down even farther on popular discontent they dislike.
Prior to the election, Maduro emphasized there would be a “bloodbath” if he didn’t win this time around. He has the wherewithal to make good on his threat, given that he’s in charge of the nation’s army, cops, courts, and most of its lethal paramilitary gangs. Even leftist-led Brazil and Colombia have expressed concerns over the situation and the transparency of Venezuela’s July 28 election, urging Maduro to reveal the vote tallies that prove his claims publicly.
