An armored police vehicle rolls through tear gas during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on July 29, 2024, the day after Venezuela’s presidential election.
Federico Parra | AFP | Getty Images
Security forces and protesters clashed in parts of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, shortly after President Nicolás Maduro declared victory in disputed election results.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets on Monday to deny Maduro’s claim to a third six-year term in power.
Photos released by Getty Images showed riot police appearing to use tear gas on protesters in Caracas, as demonstrators banged pots and pans and tires were burning on a highway.
Opponents of Maduro’s government also carried a large banner that read: “Venezuela, I want you to be free.”
CNBC could not independently verify the images.
A riot police officer used tear gas on demonstrators during a protest near Caracas’ Catia neighborhood by opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government on July 29, 2024, the day after Venezuela’s presidential election.
Yuri Cortes | AFP | Getty Images
The National Electoral Council, loyal to Maduro’s ruling party, declared the incumbent the winner of Sunday’s presidential election on Monday, with just over half (51%) of the votes cast.
independent exit pollsHowever, opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has been tipped for a major victory.
Gonzalez and opposition leader Marina Corina Machado, who has been banned from participating in the election, told supporters on Monday that they had received more than 70% of the vote in Sunday’s election.
Machado called on Maduro to accept that his 11 years in power are over and dismissed the president’s claims that his victory was “irreversible.”
“He should understand that he was defeated,” Machado told protector in an interview published Tuesday. “I would say his departure is irreversible.”
President-elect Nicolás Maduro (center) shows the certificate declaring him the winner of the election during a ceremony to issue the majority certificate at the CNE headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela, July 29, 2024.
Jesus Vargas | Getty Images News | Getty Images
In a nationally televised address on Monday, Maduro accused the opposition of fomenting what he called a “political crisis.”
“We have never been moved by hatred. On the contrary, we have always been victims of power,” Maduro reportedly said. Associated Press. “There is another attempt to stage a coup of a fascist and counter-revolutionary nature in Venezuela.”
‘serious concern’
The United States expressed “serious concern” that the announced election results did not reflect the will and votes of the Venezuelan people.
The White House called on Venezuelan election officials to release a complete and detailed list of results.
“We will make a judgment before that happens,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said. “We and the international community are watching and we will respond accordingly.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Collina Machado poses before opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia after the results of the presidential election were announced in Caracas on July 29, 2024. Accompanied by the media for interviews.
Federico Parra | AFP | Getty Images
Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has been plagued by a deep political and socioeconomic crisis for years.
Over the past decade, more than 7.7 million people estimated The move away from the country in search of better prospects reflects the largest exodus in Latin America’s recent history and one of the world’s largest displacement crises.
United Nations Refugee Agency explain About 20% of the country’s population has fled the country since 2014 amid rampant violence, gang wars, soaring inflation and shortages of food, medicine and basic services.
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