Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gestures as he leaves a press conference to the international media about the presidential election at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. (Federico Parra/AFP)
- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says opponents should be jailed.
- Violence has rocked the country since a disputed election.
- The US believes that the opposition won the election.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, facing mounting pressure to offer evidence his election victory was valid, said on Wednesday that opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia should be imprisoned following deadly protests across the country.
“They should be behind bars,” the leader told reporters.
The opposition, which claims its candidate Gonzalez Urrutia was the rightful victor, said 16 people were killed in protests that erupted after Sunday’s election in the Latin American country.
The White House warned its patience, and that of the international community, was “running out” with Venezuela, joining the European Union and regional nations in demanding a detailed breakdown of the ballots cast.
Maduro said he was “ready to present 100% of the records”, as he addressed journalists outside the Supreme Court of Justice, where he filed an appeal against what he termed an “attack against the electoral process”.
“I am willing to be summoned, questioned, investigated in all aspects by the electoral chamber,” he said.
READ | ‘We are not afraid!’ 12 dead as thousands protest Maduro’s election win in Venezuela
But Brian Nichols, the top US diplomat for Latin America, said that polling results released by the opposition provided “irrefutable evidence” that Maduro lost “by millions of votes”.
A Venezuelan woman holds a sign that reads in Spanish ‘Feel you proud, we are going to the end’ during a demonstration protesting alleged electoral fraud in Venezuela’s controversial presidential election at Urraca Park in Panama City. (Arnulfo Franco/AFP)
On Monday, security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Venezuelans after thousands took to the streets shouting “Freedom, freedom!” and “This government is going to fall!”
Machado, who was replaced by Gonzalez Urrutia after being barred from running, said there had been 177 detentions and 11 “forced disappearances”, while Attorney General Tarek William Saab said 749 had been arrested at protests, some of whom may face terrorism charges.
The military reported one death and 23 injuries among its ranks.
Undaunted, thousands gathered again on Tuesday for peaceful demonstrations of support for the opposition in several cities.
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday:
I want to note that our patience, and that of the international community, is running out.
“It’s running out on waiting for the Venezuelan electoral authorities to come clean and release the full detailed data on this election so that everyone can see the results.”
In neighbouring Colombia – which hosts the largest number of Venezuelans who have fled economic collapse and repression at home – President Gustavo Petro called for a transparent vote count under “professional international supervision”.
The Carter Center, one of the few international bodies whose observers were allowed into Venezuela, said on Tuesday the elections “cannot be considered democratic”.
But in an emergency meeting on Wednesday, the Organisation of American States (OAS) regional body failed to adopt a resolution calling for the detailed results to be released “immediately”, with Colombia and Brazil notably abstaining.
Maduro has led the oil-rich country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80% that pushed more than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela’s 30 million citizens to emigrate.
He is accused of locking up critics and harassing opponents in a climate of rising authoritarianism.
Demonstrators protest Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s questioned victory in the Venezuelan presidential elections during a vigil in Cali, Colombia. (Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP)
Sunday’s elections were held in the shadow of Maduro’s warnings of a “bloodbath” if he were to lose, and amid widespread fear the vote would be rigged.
Independent polls had predicted a convincing win for Gonzalez Urrutia.
Maduro’s previous re-election, in 2018, was rejected as a sham by dozens of Latin American and other countries, including the US and members of the EU.
But years of crippling US sanctions failed to dislodge the president, who enjoys loyalty from the military leadership, electoral bodies, courts and other state institutions, as well as the backing of Russia, China and Cuba.
Peru recognised Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela’s legitimate president on Tuesday, prompting Caracas to sever diplomatic ties.
Venezuela has withdrawn diplomatic staff from eight critical Latin American countries and asked envoys from those nations to leave its territory.
Thousands of Venezuelans gathered in a peaceful show of opposition support a day after 11 people died and dozens were injured in protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s questioned presidential victory. (Luis Acosta/AFP)
That includes Argentina, whose embassy in Caracas is housing several associates of Machado as asylees, creating uncertainty around their futures.
Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-Maduro protesters took to the streets of Caracas on Wednesday to voice their support for the embattled president in response to the global criticism.
“They have said the same thing in previous years, in previous elections they always talk about ‘fraud’,” Edwin Blanco, a 30-year-old supporter of Maduro, told AFP.
Some demonstrators wore T-shirts reading “I choose Nicolas” while others waved Venezuelan flags, took selfies and danced to music as they walked through the streets.
Ledys Rodriguez, 65, told AFP she found the actions of the opposition “painful”.
“Who do you think is supporting them? They’re being backed by foreign countries.”
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