Nicolas Maduro said he was ready to provide all “the evidence” of his contested re-election on Wednesday, in the face of protests from the opposition, which, for its part, denounced “the cruel and repressive escalation of the regime.”
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“They are the evil of Venezuela (…) they will never come to power.” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday, July 31, accused opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and her presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia of having “blood on the hands”following deadly protests that erupted after his disputed re-election.
At a press conference with foreign correspondents at the Miraflores presidential palace, Nicolas Maduro also said that opposition leaders should be put “behind bars”. Under increasing international pressure, he said he was ready to provide all “the evidence” of his contested re-election, in the face of protests from the opposition, which, for its part, denounced “the cruel and repressive escalation of the regime”.
Heir to the socialist and Bolivarian leader Hugo Chavez, Nicolas Maduro, 61, in power since 2013, was proclaimed re-elected for a third term until 2031, at the end of Sunday’s election won with 51.2% of the vote against 44.2% attributed to his opponent Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, according to official results. The opposition contests his results in the streets and denounces a “massive fraud”.
On the diplomatic front, international pressure has clearly increased over the last 24 hours. “Our patience, and that of the international community, is running out”warned the White House in Washington. In unison with most Western countries, the United States has demanded that the “Venezuelan electoral authorities” publish “the full and detailed results of this election, so that everyone can see the results”.
