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Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has warned that “justice must come” to opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González and leader María Corina Machado as authorities cracked down on protests amid claims of a stolen vote.
“I hold you, Mr González, and Ms Machado, directly responsible for the criminal violence, the wounded, the dead, and the destruction,” Maduro said during a government meeting on Tuesday, as demonstrations over the authoritarian president’s disputed election victory continued across the country.
Maduro, a revolutionary socialist backed by Moscow and Beijing, accused González, a 74-year-old former diplomat, of taking part in a fascist coup plot supported by the likes of billionaire Elon Musk and drug-traffickers from neighbouring Colombia.
Hours earlier, two significant Maduro lieutenants, national assembly head Jorge Rodríguez and lawmaker Diosdado Cabello, called for the arrest of the two opposition leaders. Another opposition figure Freddy Superlano, a former lawmaker who campaigned with González, was arrested on Tuesday morning.
The aftermath of Sunday’s election has plunged oil-rich Venezuela into turmoil, with citizens taking to the streets to protest against what they regard as a blatant attempt to cheat and prolong Maduro’s 11-year rule for another six years. In some cities, demonstrators toppled statues of Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s late populist predecessor.
The Venezuelan Conflict Observatory, a local watchdog, reported that the authorities had put down at least 115 demonstrations in 20 states on Tuesday, and at least nine people have died from gunshot wounds.
Attorney-general Tarek William Saab said that 749 people had been arrested for “violent acts” in protests that began on Monday, after the government-controlled election authority, the CNE, declared Maduro the winner with 51.2 per cent of the vote against 44.2 per cent for the main opposition candidate, González
The CNE has not so far given detailed information but on Monday handed Maduro an official certificate of victory. The opposition has challenged that, saying its data showed González had won with 7.1mn votes against 3.2mn for Maduro.
“We have no doubt that the [opposition] data matches everything we saw in exit polls, quick counts and the mood in the country,” said one diplomat in Caracas.
The US, the EU and most Latin American governments have all called on Maduro to publish detailed polling station data, which is collected automatically by Venezuela’s electronic voting system.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday afternoon about the situation in Venezuela, and “the two leaders agreed on the need for immediate release of full, transparent and detailed voting data at the polling station level by the Venezuelan electoral authorities”, according to a White House readout.
Celso Amorim, Lula’s top foreign policy aide, told the Financial Times Maduro assured him during a meeting that he would make voting returns from the election available “in a short period of time, from what I understood.”
Amorim said that after meeting Maduro in Caracas, he met González. “The impression I have is that the opposition has [election] records and . . . the numbers will not match [with those of the government],” he added. “This is a very complex situation and will remain complex for a long time. The most important thing is peace.” Maduro did not give a specific timeframe for releasing the data.
Amorim sought to damp down speculation about his role as a possible mediator in Venezuela, saying he was departing the country later on Tuesday.
Many businesses stayed closed amid fears of violence and difficulties for employees to get to work.
At an opposition demonstration in the well-to-do Altamira neighbourhood, thousands of people chanted González’s name. Many wore white, the opposition colour, and some waved Venezuelan flags. One man shouted “Maduro out!” A few people banged pots and pans. On nearby backstreets, motorcyclists hooted their horns.
“It’s obvious that the government lost in every state,” said beer brewer Sandy Digman, who doubted that Maduro or the CNE would publish detailed results without “re-engineering” them. “They know they don’t have the numbers.”
“The government knows it has lost but that makes it dangerous,” said José Rengifo, who lives in the area. “They should be in jail so I think things will get dark. Venezuelans aren’t usually up for a fight, but this time is different.”
Amid speculation over the role Venezuela’s military might play, defence minister Vladimir Padrino declared “our absolute loyalty and unconditional support” for Maduro, “who has been legitimately re-elected”.
