Amid deep political tensions and a wave of popular protests sparked by the announcement of the election results in Venezuelan presidential electionsthe government of Nicolás Maduro has chosen to clench its fist and radicalize the response of the Chavista apparatus. The president has stepped up repression and announced the creation of two high-security prisons to punish those who protest against accusations of electoral fraud.
The security forces' response to the public outcry has left an undetermined number of dead – according to various estimates by human rights organizations, the number is between ten and twenty – dozens of wounded and hundreds of prisoners. Maria Corina Machado, The opposition leader issued a statement, intended for the international community, in English and published by the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, in which she states that she is going underground and that she is writing those lines 'in fear' for her 'life and freedom'.
“Mr. Maduro did not win the presidential election in Venezuela on Sunday. He lost overwhelmingly to Edmundo González, 67% to 30%. I know it’s true because I can prove it. “I have obtained receipts directly from more than 80% of the polling stations in the country,” Machado said in the letter, referring to the work of activists and witnesses from his campaign team, who obtained and digitized the leaked voting data even from places where they could not be present, and later posted it on a web page. A proof and a coup that has convinced the international community and even important former figures of Chavismo, and that has not been able to be denied, neither by the PSUV nor by anyone else.
Despite the announcement, Machado called his followers on Saturday morning for a new rally in Caracas and all the cities in the country, to give “a new demonstration of strength” and support the triumph of Edmundo González Urrutia. The reaction of the Chavista state, especially through the Public Prosecutor's Office, was to criminalize the work of the so-called “commands” -the teams of opposition technical cadres, led by Machado, who are responsible for working the tables and defending the elections-, and put them at the head of a plan to promote fascist violence and break legality in the country. This week, Maduro and Cabello have promised several prison sentences for Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia and this Friday the president declared without evidence that the “commands“They are preparing an “attack” on Saturday in Caracas, in the area of Bello Monte
The serious accusations from top government leaders are increasing in speed and scale after the election results. God-given hair, number two of the device, he accused Felix Seijas, director of the Delphos pollster, on his television program; to the journalist and specialist in electoral issues, Eugenio Martínez; to the analyst and academic Benigno Alarcón; and civil activist Roberto Picón, of conspiring to carry out the cyberattack on the National Electoral Council, which, according to the statement of the Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, North Macedonia was organized (hypothesis that the government of that country has already denied)
Political leaders such as Freddy Superlano, national coordinator of Voluntad Popular, or civil activists such as Ricardo Estévez of the NGO Súmate, were taken to prison during express operations. Silence and secrecy reign among most politicians.
The indignant popular protests that have taken place in many popular areas of the urban perimeter of Caracas and in cities throughout the country, which have seen the demolition of up to nine statues of Hugo Chávez, are being severely punished by the authorities. Precise intelligence operations are being carried out to search the homes of those accused of causing street riots since Monday, July 29, the vast majority of whom are citizens of Mariara, Petare, Paraguaná or Maiquetía.
More than ten dead, dozens injured and about 700 arrests are the preliminary balance of the clashes with police after allegations of fraud in Venezuela. “I have decided to create two maximum security prisons for all the gangs that are involved in the criminal attack today,” Maduro said, referring to the prisoners, during a meeting with businessmen at the White Palace. “There will be no forgiveness or contemplation here; we will do everything within the framework of the Constitution and the laws. We are going to see if it is possible for them to be re-educated [los presos]; turn those spaces into productive, working farms. Back in the day, they took prisoners to build roads. Well, there’s a lot of trails to be traveled, let’s start building roads.
This morning, the Bejucal estate, located in the Altamira urbanization, the headquarters of the Vente Venezuela party and the office of María Corina Machado, was violated by armed men without identifying themselves, who tied up the staff on duty and then scratched the doors of the offices with graffiti, caused destruction and took several of the organization's computers.
While all this is happening, the National Electoral Council continues without showing the minutes or detailed results of the elections in which Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner. The institution's president, Elvis Amoroso, This week it remained quiet and the second election bulletin with the results was again suspended.
Nicolás Maduro has appealed to the Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Court to “resolve this controversy”, and although he has not shown it, he claims to have “100 percent of the minutes” that he intends to submit, in this case, completely controlled by the interests of Chavismo.
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