Friday, half a dozen attackers ransacked the headquarters of the opposition chief Venezuela Maria Machado following the last escalation of violence against the opponents of Nicholas Maduro after the controversial presidential elections of the country.
The raid occurred at around 3 a.m., Machado’s party said, adding that the assailants broke down doors and hauled away valuable documents and equipment. Images published by Machado’s party on social media show several walls covered in black spray paint.
The assault comes as top officials, including Maduro himself, have threatened to arrest the opposition leader, who has gone into hiding as she seeks to rally Venezuelans and the international community to challenge last Sunday’s election results.
The Biden administration has firmly thrown its support behind the opposition, recognizing last-minute candidate Edmundo González as the victor, discrediting the official results of the vote, and proclaiming Maduro the winner.
The US announcement late Thursday followed calls from multiple governments, including close allies of Maduro, for Venezuela’s electoral authorities to release precinct-level vote counts, as it has done during previous elections.
The electoral body declared Maduro the winner on Monday. Still, the main opposition coalition revealed hours later that it had collected copies of 80 percent of the country’s 30,000 voting tallies and that they show González prevailed by a more than 2-to-1 margin.
“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
+ There are no comments
Add yours