Venezuelans rally to support opposition after disputed vote

CARACAS

Thousands of Venezuelans gathered Tuesday in a peaceful show of opposition support a day after 11 people died and dozens were injured in protests against President Nicolas Maduro's disputed presidential election victory.

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

As international calls mounted for the regime-aligned National Electoral Council (CNE) to release a detailed vote breakdown to back its awarding of Sunday's election to Maduro, the president responded with threats.

The opposition, he said, would be held responsible for "criminal violence... the wounded, the dead, the destruction" associated with protests.

The Foro Penal human rights NGO, however, said at least 11 people — two of them minors — have 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.

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

The opposition rejects the authorities' assertion that Maduro won the presidential contest with 51 percent of votes compared to 44 percent for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

Maduro, 61, has been at the helm of the once-wealthy oil-rich country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than seven million of 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 Center, whose monitors observed the presidential poll, on Tuesday said the election did not meet standards of democratic fairness and called for the release of disaggregated results by polling station.

"Venezuela's 2024 presidential election did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic," the organisation said in a statement.

  'Terrorism' 

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

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

At least two statues of Hugo Chavez — the late authoritarian socialist who led Venezuela for over a decade and handpicked Maduro as his successor — were toppled.

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

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

  'Maduro dictator' 

On Tuesday, opposition supporters gathered for peaceful rallies in several cities.

Thousands attended a gathering in Caracas with Gonzalez Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado — the popular opposition leader blocked from the ballot by Maduro-aligned courts.

Waving Venezuelan flags, they chanted: "Maduro dictator!" and "Edmundo president!"

"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 in the crowd.

U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said Tuesday he was "extremely concerned about increasing tensions in Venezuela, with worrying reports of violence."

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Venezuela's security forces must guarantee that demonstrators can gather peacefully, while 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 in uncertain times.

Most other business were closed.

  'Exceptional manipulation' 

Addressing the opposition crowd in Caracas, retired diplomat Gonzalez Urrutia addressed the security forces, saying: "there is no reason for so much persecution."

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said Maduro had the "absolute loyalty and unconditional support" of the armed forces, as he vowed to "preserve internal order."

Venezuela's elections were held amid widespread fears of fraud and a campaign tainted by accusations of political intimidation.

The Organization of American States charged there had been "exceptional manipulation" of the results.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and counterpart Joe Biden of the United States — both countries hosting large numbers of Venezuelan migrants — held talks Tuesday and called for the CNE to release detailed election results.

The United Nations, United States, European Union and several Latin American countries have all raised questions about the count and called for a "transparent" reckoning.

Peru on Tuesday recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela's legitimate president, a move that prompted Caracas to sever diplomatic relations.

Costa Rica has offered Gonzalez Urrutia and Machado political asylum.

As international pressure rises, Caracas has withdrawn diplomatic staff from eight critical Latin American countries, and asked envoys from those nations to leave its territory.

Mexico's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, however, urged third parties to "not stick their noses" into Venezuela's affairs.