Venezuelans rally to support opposition

CARACAS — Thousands of Venezuelans gathered on Tuesday in a peaceful show of opposition support a day after 12 people died and hundreds were arrested during protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s disputed presidential election victory.

They chanted “Freedom! Freedom!” and “We are not afraid!” at a mass rally in the capital Caracas, where opposition leaders insisted they had the numbers for a convincing victory.

International calls mounted for the Maduro-aligned National Electoral Council (CNE) to release a detailed vote breakdown to back its awarding of Sunday’s election to him.

Maduro said the opposition would be held responsible for “criminal violence... the wounded, the dead, the destruction” associated with protests.

The Foro Penal human rights NGO said at least 11 people — two of them minors — had died in what its head Alfredo Romero described as “a crisis of human rights”.

Dozens more were injured, and at least 177 arrested, he said, while authorities reported more than 700 arrests.

The military has reported one death and 23 injuries among its ranks.

Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Monday at protesters who claimed the election was stolen and flooded the streets with chants of “this government is going to fall!”

The opposition rejects the authorities’ assertion that Maduro won with 51 per cent of votes compared to 44 percent for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

Maduro, 61, has led the oil-rich country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 per cent that pushed more than 7 million of once-wealthy Venezuela’s 30 million citizens to emigrate.

He is accused of locking up critics and harassing the opposition in a climate of rising authoritarianism.

The US-based Carter Centre, whose monitors observed the poll, also called for the release of detailed polling station results.

“Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the vote results cannot be recognised until voting records are verified and made public.

“We ask to be provided with immediate access to the voting records of polling stations,” he told reporters during a trip to Vietnam on Wednesday.

Independent polls had predicted retired diplomat Gonzalez Urrutia, 74, would win by a wide margin.

Thousands of protesters streamed into the streets of several cities when Maduro was declared the winner, some ripping down and burning his campaign posters in anger.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab said 749 “criminals” had been arrested at protests and faced charges of resisting authority or, “in the most serious cases, terrorism”.

Maduro’s close aide and Venezuela’s National Assembly president, Jorge Rodriguez, said Gonzalez Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado — the popular opposition leader blocked from the ballot by Maduro-aligned courts — should be locked up over the protests.

‘Maduro dictator’ 

Opposition supporters gathered for peaceful rallies in several cities on Tuesday.

Thousands waved Venezuelan flags and chanted “Maduro dictator!” and “Edmundo president!” at the Caracas rally with Gonzalez Urrutia and Machado.

“We have to stay in the streets, we cannot allow them to steal our vote so brazenly,” said Carley Patino, a 47-year-old administrator.

Gonzalez Urrutia told the crowd security forces had “no reason for so much persecution”.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Tuesday he was “extremely concerned about increasing tensions in Venezuela, with worrying reports of violence”.

The White House said “any political repression or violence against protesters or of the opposition is obviously unacceptable”.

Long queues formed at stores and supermarkets in Caracas Tuesday as residents stocked up on food, toilet paper and soap.

Most other businesses were closed.

Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said Maduro had the “absolute loyalty and unconditional support” of the armed forces and vowed to “preserve internal order”.

There had been widespread fears of fraud and a campaign tainted by accusations of political intimidation before the election.

The Organisation of American States charged there had been “exceptional manipulation” of the results.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and US counterpart Joe Biden held talks on Tuesday and called for the CNE to release detailed election results. Both countries host large numbers of Venezuelan migrants.

Peru recognised Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela’s legitimate president on Tuesday, prompting Caracas to sever diplomatic relations.

Costa Rica has offered Gonzalez Urrutia and Machado political asylum.