- Maduro on opposition leaders: "Must be behind bars"
The power struggle following the disputed election in Venezuela is intensifying. Authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro stated that opposition leader María Corina Machado and her candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, should be imprisoned. "As a citizen, I say: These people should be behind bars," Maduro declared on Wednesday (local time) before journalists in Caracas.
The opposition, meanwhile, insists that it won the election, despite allegations of fraud, in which Maduro was declared the winner. The U.S. is demanding, in increasingly harsh terms, that the electoral authority make public the lists of votes cast. While Maduro promised a review of the election, the Supreme Court is considered pro-government.
Maduro labeled Machado and González as criminals and cowards. Leading figures of the socialist ruling party had already called for the arrest of the two government opponents in the days prior. The president blamed the opposition for the violent protests following the election.
Clashes resulted in at least 11 deaths, according to independent Venezuelan organizations. Human Rights Watch reported on X that it had received reports of up to 20 deaths. The Attorney General's Office reported that more than 1,000 people had been arrested.
The opposition blames the government for the protests. "Venezuela and the world know that violence is the last resort of the Maduro regime," Machado wrote on X. "After the clear election victory we Venezuelans have achieved, the regime's response is murder, kidnapping, and persecution. These crimes will not go unpunished."
Arrest warrant for Maduro demanded
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, plans to request an arrest warrant against Maduro from the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Before the election, he had warned of a bloodbath and a civil war in the South American country if he were not re-elected.
It is outrageous that Maduro is now carrying out this bloodbath, Almagro said. There is intent, deceit, and cruelty involved. "It is time to bring charges and request an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against the main perpetrators, including Maduro," Almagro wrote on X. The court has been investigating Maduro's government for years over suspected crimes against humanity.
After the presidential election on Sunday, the pro-government electoral authority officially declared Maduro the winner. However, the opposition accuses the government of election fraud and claims victory for its candidate, González. It says it has access to more than 80 percent of the detailed election results from individual polling stations, which the National Electoral Council has not yet published. According to this data, González would have received 67 percent of the votes and Maduro 30 percent.
Many countries doubt the election result
The U.S., the EU, and a number of Latin American countries also doubt the official election result. Peru even recognized the opposition candidate, González, as the election winner, leading Venezuela to break off diplomatic relations with the South American country.
The U.S. government warned through the communications director of the National Security Council, John Kirby: "Our patience and that of the international community is running out." The time for the Venezuelan electoral authority to publish "complete and detailed data" is running out, "so that everyone can see the results."
Maduro requested an investigation of the election by the Supreme Court in a demonstrative manner and announced that he would publish the detailed results soon. However, the court is considered pro-government and not independent, as emphasized by the Carter Center. The independent US organization had sent election observers to Venezuela and described the vote as undemocratic.
Venezuela has been in a severe political and economic crisis for years, which is also due to mismanagement under the socialist government of Maduro. In the once prosperous country with large oil reserves, more than 80% of the population lives below the poverty line. Power outages occur frequently, and fuel, gas, and medicine are scarce. More than seven million people, a quarter of the population, have left Venezuela in the past decade due to poverty and violence.
HRW on X PK Maduro via X X-Post Machado X-Post Almagro
The opposition leader Maria Corina Machado strongly criticized Maduro's regime, stating that "violence is the last resort of the Maduro regime" and that the opposition has achieved a clear election victory. After the presidential election, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, planned to demand an arrest warrant against Maduro from the International Criminal Court for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity.
