Thousands protest claim of election win by Maduro

Thousands of people, led by a top opposition figure, gathered across Venezuela yesterday to protest the widely disputed re-election of President Nicolas Maduro, as his supporters responded to his own call for competing rallies.The Organisation of American States (OAS) urged peace in Venezuela ahead of the marches to support the government and the country’s political opposition amid spiralling tensions connected to contested election results."May every Venezuelan man, woman, who speaks out in the street today find only an echo of peace, a peace that reflects the spirit of democratic coexistence,” the OAS said in a statement shared via X.Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado thrilled supporters in Caracas when she made a surprise appearance in a truck bearing a banner reading "Venezuela has won!” after spending several days in hiding.Machado had backed the candidacy of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia after she herself was banned from running.Backers cried out "Freedom!” as her truck passed by yesterday."We have never been so strong as today,” Machado told the crowd, adding that "the regime has never been weaker...it has lost all legitimacy”."Today I feel a little discouraged but I decided to come because I want to continue expressing my voice,” said opposition supporter and civil engineer Yannet Garcia, 62. "We have opted for change, we have not given up.”Maduro also called on his supporters to turn out for "the mother of all marches” later in the afternoon.He accused the opposition of plotting attacks against security forces during their rallies.Eleven civilians reportedly have died and more than 1,000 have been detained in the protests that erupted after the country’s CNE election authority, loyal to Maduro, on Friday proclaimed him the winner with 52% of the vote to 43% for Gonzalez Urrutia.However, that result has been rejected by countries including the United States, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay.They say available results show the opposition candidate to be the clear winner.The government has ordered the expulsion of diplomats from some countries questioning his victory.Argentine diplomats who reached Buenos Aires yesterday said power had been cut to their embassy, as hooded police kept guard outside.The 61-year-old Maduro has reacted fiercely to the widespread international criticism, describing allegations of vote fraud as a "trap” orchestrated by Washington to justify "a coup”.Maduro has led the oil-rich, cash-poor country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80% that pushed more than 7mn of once-wealthy Venezuela’s 30mn citizens to emigrate.Experts blame economic mismanagement and United States sanctions for the collapse.Gonzalez Urrutia did not show up to a hearing at the Supreme Court after Maduro requested the tribunal investigate and certify the election result.However, other opposition candidates summoned to the hearing called for a detailed vote count to be made public.The opposition has launched a website with copies of 84% of ballots cast, showing an easy win for Gonzalez Urrutia.The government claims these are forged.Machado, who was barred from running herself, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that she was in hiding and "fearing for my life” along with other opposition leaders.The non-governmental organisation (NGO) Foro Penal reported 11 dead in protests on Monday and Tuesday as angry Venezuelans took to the streets, and Machado said at least 20 people had been killed.Officials said one soldier died as well.The crackdown has sparked fear among opposition supporters, with memories still fresh of a wave of repression under the Maduro government in 2017 that left some 100 people dead."We have dead, wounded, detainees, missing people...people know it. They are afraid,” Katiusca Camargo, an activist in the Petare slum in eastern Caracas, said yesterday.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that there was "overwhelming evidence” that Gonzalez Urrutia had won the election.Blinken spoke with Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia on Friday, expressing "his concern for their safety and well-being” and congratulating Gonzalez Urrutia "for receiving the most votes”, the State Department said.In a joint statement, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico urged an "impartial verification” of the result.The OAS – which this week called the election results unreliable – urged respect for human rights and an end to violence in the country."Today we urge that there not be one more political prisoner, nor one more tortured person, nor one more disappeared person, nor one more murdered person,” the OAS said. "Venezuela does not deserve that.”Maduro’s previous re-election, in 2018, was rejected by dozens of Latin American countries as well as the United States and European Union member states.He enjoys loyalty from the military leadership, electoral bodies, courts and other state institutions, as well as the backing of Russia, China and Cuba.