President Nicolás Maduro has told his supporters he is “willing to do anything” to protect his “revolution” amid growing criticism of the last week’s disputed presidential election results.
Venezuela’s government and opposition are in a standoff after both sides claimed to have won the election.
Nicolás Maduro was declared the new leader of the country, according to partial results announced by the electoral council. However, his win has been slammed as fake by the opposition, who have vowed to challenge the result.
Opposition candidate and retired diplomat Edmundo González said: "Venezuelans and the entire world know what happened.”
Since the results, there has been widespread outcry and violent protests across the country, but now, President Maduro has vowed to stay strong in his position.
He vowed to “pulverise” the latest challenge to his rule, urging military chiefs to order a “total deployment” of their troops in response to the opposition challenge.
Maduro told troops equipped with rifles and riot shields: “You can be certain that we will go after all of the criminals and all of the fascists because fascism will not seize power in Venezuela. I am willing to do anything and I am counting on you to ensure order, law and the constitution prevail.”
On Sunday, the EU revealed it was “seriously concerned” about the growing number of detention centres in Venezuela and the harassment of the opposition.
“The European Union calls on Venezuelan authorities to put an end to arbitrary detentions, repression and violent rhetoric against members of the opposition and civil society, and to release all political prisoners,” the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in a statement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously echoed the same sentiment, saying America had "serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people".
Meanwhile, Gabriel Boric, the leftist leader of Chile, said: "The Maduro regime should understand that the results it published are difficult to believe."
On the streets of Caracas, Venezuela’s capital city, the announcement of the results by the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council led to anger and tears.
Reacting to the news, the UK government has voiced concerns about allegations of “serious irregularities” in the presidential poll.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said: “We are concerned by the allegations of serious irregularities in the counting and declared results of Sunday’s presidential election in Venezuela. We are calling for the swift and transparent publication of full detailed results to ensure that the outcome reflects the votes of the Venezuelan people. The UK does not currently recognise the Maduro regime. We would wait to ensure that the outcome reflects the votes of the Venezuelan people.”
What were the results of the election in Venezuela?
President Nicolas Maduro won with 51 per cent of the vote, overcoming opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez at 44 per cent.
The result came as a shock to opposition members who had celebrated, online and outside a few voting centres, what they believed was a landslide victory for Mr Gonzalez.
Why is the result controversial?
Over the past 10 years, 7.8 million people have fled Venezuela because of the economic and political issues the country experienced as a result of the Maduro administration.
Now that Mr Maduro has been re-elected, an exodus could increase. One poll conducted in the run-up to the election suggests that a third of the population would emigrate should he win.
When did the protests begin?
Angry protesters broke out across Venezuela shortly after the result was declared on July 29.
Thousands chanted “Freedom, freedom!” and “This government is going to fall!” during the demonstrations on Monday.
Tear gas and rubber bullets were fired by police. Four people also have been reportedly killed in the protests, according to non-profit groups.
What is happening now?
Protests are ongoing as opposition leaders are disputing the results. Barred opposition leader Maria Corina Machado called for families to turn out on Tuesday, July 29 for “popular assemblies” across the South American nation.
She said that a review of available voting records from Sunday’s presidential contest showed that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez had achieved a “categorical and mathematically irreversible” victory over Mr Maduro.
Meanwhile, Mr Maduro has dismissed criticism, claiming that Venezuela was the target of an attempted “coup d’etat” of a “fascist and counter-revolutionary” nature.
