Venezuela protests intensify as Oppn disputes vote results, 11 killed; Maduro blames rival

CARACAS: As the opposition leaders continue to dispute the election results that saw President Nicolas Maduro secure another term in power, the protests intensified on Tuesday, with more people taking to streets, Al Jazeera reported.

The opposition’s Maria Corina Machado called for families to turn out on Tuesday for “popular assemblies” across the South American nation. Machado told reporters a day earlier that a review of available voting records from Sunday’s election showed that presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez had achieved a “categorical and mathematically irreversible” victory over Maduro.

The two opposition leaders appeared at a gathering in the capital of Caracas on Tuesday. “What we are fighting here is a fraud by the regime,” said Machado, urging peaceful protest. A large crowd, many waving Venezuelan flags, chanted, “We are not afraid!” Opposition protesters also marched in the cities of Valencia, Maracay, San Cristobal, Maracaibo and Barquisimeto throughout the day.

Earlier today, I spoke with Maria and have since heard that Maduro put a warrant out for @MariaCorinaYa & @EdmundoGU for standing for freedom.

The United States must stand with the people of Venezuela as they courageously rally for freedom and democracy. pic.twitter.com/l46U4J5iKp

— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) July 30, 2024

The demonstrations come a day after Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) formally confirmed that Maduro had been re-elected by a majority of Venezuelans to another six-year term as president “for the period 2025-2031”. That announcement fueled widespread anger and thousands of protestors took to streets to voice their opposition to Maduro and his government. They were met by tear gas and rubber bullets fired by police, as reported by Al Jazeera

A local monitoring group, the Venezuelan Conflict Observatory, said it had registered 187 protests in 20 states by Monday evening, with “numerous acts of repression and violence” carried out by paramilitary groups and security forces. According to rights group Foro Penal, at least 11 people had been killed in incidents related to the election count or the protests.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition party Voluntad Popular said in a social media post on Tuesday that its national coordinator, Freddy Superlano, had been detained.

Dismissing all the international criticism and doubts raised over poll results, Maduro claimed that Venezuela was the target of an attempted “coup d’etat” of a “fascist and counter-revolutionary” nature. His government has called the protesters “violent agitators,” and Maduro directly blamed Gonzalez, his presidential challenger, for the deteriorating situation

“I hold (Gonzalez) responsible for everything that is happening in Venezuela, criminal violence…the wounded, the dead, the destruction,” said the Venezuelan leader. Maduro also warned that “justice will come,” Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)