Venezuela’s armed forces on Tuesday rejected calls for support from the opposition as “desperate and seditious” and reaffirmed their “absolute loyalty” to President Nicolas Maduro, whose re-election is contested.
“We firmly reject the desperate and seditious proposals” that “seek to undermine our unity,” Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino said in a statement, reaffirming “absolute loyalty to citizen Nicolas Maduro Moros.” […]legitimately re-elected by the popular power”.
The day after the presidential election of July 28, General Vladimir Padrino had already reaffirmed on behalf of the army “our absolute loyalty” to President Maduro.
The opposition, which claims victory, had called on Monday the army, a pillar of power, to side “with the people” in the crisis opposing it to Nicolas Maduro, proclaimed winner by the National Electoral Council (CNE), immediately attracting criminal prosecution from 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 opposition leader Maria Corina, who denounced a “campaign of terror” in the country on Tuesday, and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in a joint statement.
The Venezuelan prosecutor’s office responded immediately by opening a criminal investigation against the two leaders, notably for “usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information, incitement to disobedience of the law, 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 vote.
The unrest that followed the outgoing president’s declaration of victory left 11 civilians dead, according to human rights organizations.
Mr Maduro, for his part, announced the death of two members of the national guard and the arrest of more than 2,000 people, promising to continue the repression against what he calls an attempted “imperialist coup”.
“Campaign of terror”
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 don’t communicate, because if we were isolated we would be much weaker. And that’s not going to 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 Mr. 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 reports – 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 said 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 Monday they support “the people’s aspiration for a transparent election.”
For its part, Washington “urged” the two camps “to begin talks with a view to a peaceful transition,” according to a statement from State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, calling for “transparency and the publication of detailed results.”