Photo: Yuri Cortez Agence France-Presse A man wears a suit with the image of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a rally in support of the official results of the last presidential election in Caracas, August 5, 2024.
Agence France-Presse in Caracas
Published at 2:26 p.m. Updated at 6:46 p.m.
- Americas
Venezuela’s armed forces on Tuesday rejected calls for support from the opposition as “desperate and seditious,” reaffirming their “absolute loyalty” to President Nicolas Maduro, whose re-election is being contested.
“We firmly reject the desperate and seditious proposals” that “seek to undermine our unity,” Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino said in a statement, reaffirming “absolute loyalty to citizen Nicolas Maduro Moros […], legitimately re-elected by the people’s power.”
The day after the presidential election on July 28, General Vladimir Padrino had already reaffirmed on behalf of the army “our absolute loyalty” to President Maduro.
The opposition, which claims victory, called on the army, a pillar of power, on Monday to side “with the people” in the crisis opposing it to Nicolas Maduro, declared the winner by the National Electoral Council (CNE), immediately attracting criminal prosecution by the public prosecutor's office.
“We appeal to the conscience of the military and police to side with the people and their own families,” wrote in a joint statement opposition leader Maria Corina, who denounced a “campaign of terror” in the country on Tuesday, and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
The Venezuelan prosecutor's office reacted immediately by opening a criminal investigation against the two leaders, in particular for “usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information, incitement to disobedience of the laws, incitement to insurrection, criminal association”.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) ratified Mr. Maduro's victory on Friday with 52% of the vote. But according to the opposition Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia won the election with 67% of the votes.
The unrest which followed the proclamation of the victory of the outgoing president made 24 dead since July 28, according to an updated toll released Tuesday by human rights organizations, including the Americas division of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Mr. Maduro announced the deaths of two members of the National Guard and the arrest of more than 2,000 people, vowing to continue the repression against what he calls an attempted “imperialist coup.”
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“Terror Campaign”
He also called on Monday for a boycott of the WhatsApp application, saying that military and local officials who are defending his controversial re-election had received “threats” via the messaging service.
“They want to intimidate us so that we do not communicate, because if we were isolated, we would be much weaker. And that will not happen […] fear will not paralyze us and we will not leave the streets,” Machado said Tuesday in a recording posted on social media.
Several countries, including the United States and Argentina, have recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner of the election, while others, such as the European Union, have abstained from doing so while demanding the full publication of the voting records that the National Electoral Council has not yet publicly released.
The electoral authority, however, officially “handed them over” on Monday to the Supreme Court (TSJ), which was seized by Mr. Maduro in order to have his re-election validated by the high court.
It is precisely these minutes — with the office-by-office count — that the opposition and part of the international community are demanding.
The Venezuelan government must stop its “campaign of judicial intimidation of the opposition,” a spokesperson for European Union diplomacy declared in Brussels on Tuesday, saying he was “seriously concerned” by the developments in the situation in Caracas.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Monday that they supported “the people's aspiration for an election transparent.”
For its part, Washington has “urged” both sides “to begin talks with a view to a peaceful transition,” according to a statement by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, calling for “transparency and the publication of detailed results.”
For its part, Colombia, through its Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Gilberto Murillo, declared on Tuesday that his country rejected “any act that leads to an increase in violence or generates repression,” calling for “great caution, great care, in order to avoid outbreaks of violence.”