An armored police vehicle drives through tear gas during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on July 29, 2024, a day after Venezuela’s presidential election.
Federico Parra | AFP | Getty Images
Security forces and protesters clashed in several areas of Venezuela’s capital Caracas, shortly after President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in an election. controversial election results.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets on Monday to protest Maduro’s bid to win a third six-year term in power.
Photos released by Getty Images show what appears to be riot police using tear gas against protesters in Caracas, demonstrators banging pots and pans, and burning tires on a highway.
Opponents of the Maduro government were also seen holding a large banner reading: “Venezuela, I want you to be free”.
CNBC could not independently verify these images.
A riot police officer uses tear gas against protesters during a demonstration by opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government in the Catia neighborhood of Caracas on July 29, 2024, a day after Venezuela’s presidential election.
Yuri Cortez | AFP | Getty Images
The National Electoral Council, an organization loyal to Maduro’s ruling party, declared on Monday that the incumbent president was the winner of Sunday’s presidential election, winning more than half (51%) of the vote.
Independence exit probeHowever, it suggested a significant victory for opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.
González and opposition leader Marina Corina Machado, who is barred from running, told supporters on Monday that they had received more than 70% of the vote in Sunday’s election.
Machado has called on Maduro to accept that 11 years in power has now ended and dismissed the president’s claim that his victory was “irreversible”.
“He should understand that he has been defeated,” Machado said. Guard in an interview published on Tuesday. “I think his departure is irreversible.”
President-elect Nicolas Maduro (C) holds up a certificate declaring him the winner of the election during the ceremony to present the Certificate of Majority Vote at the CNE Headquarters on July 29, 2024 in Caracas, Venezuela.
Jesus Vargas | News Getty Images | Getty Images
Speaking in a nationally televised address, Maduro accused the opposition of provoking what he described as a “political crisis”.
“We have never been motivated by hatred. On the contrary, we have always been victims of those in power,” Maduro said, according to Related Press. “An attempt is being made to impose a coup in Venezuela that is once again fascist and counter-revolutionary in nature.”
‘Serious concern’
The United States has expressed “grave concerns” that the announced election results do not reflect the will and votes of the Venezuelan people.
The White House has called on Venezuelan election officials to release full and detailed results.
“We will reserve judgment until then,” said John Kirby, White House national security spokesman. “We and the international community are watching and we will respond accordingly.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks to the media, alongside opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, following presidential election results in Caracas on July 29, 2024.
Federico Parra | AFP | Getty Images
Venezuela, the country with the world’s largest proven oil reserves, is suffering from a deep political and socio-economic crisis that has lasted for years.
Over the past decade, more than 7.7 million people estimate have left the country in search of better prospects, reflecting the largest migration in Latin America’s recent history and one of the world’s largest displacement crises.
United Nations Refugee Agency speak About 20% of the country’s population has fled since 2014, citing widespread violence, gang warfare, soaring inflation, as well as shortages of food, medicine and essential services.
