CARACAS, Venezuela – President Nicolás Maduro is set to extend his contentious rule over Venezuela until 2031 when he is inaugurated on Friday. This announcement comes despite significant evidence suggesting that his opponent won the recent election, alongside protests against his plan to serve a third six-year term.
On Thursday, hundreds of demonstrators opposing Maduro filled the streets of Caracas. During these protests, aides to María Corina Machado, an opposition leader, reported her brief detention by security forces, who allegedly coerced her into recording videos.
Machado, a popular former lawmaker barred from running, emerged from months of seclusion to participate in the rally, demanding that Edmundo González, the opposition candidate, be inaugurated as president instead of Maduro. After addressing the attendees, Machado departed on a motorcycle with her security team. However, her press team later claimed that government security forces “violently intercepted” her convoy, leading to confirmation from her aides regarding her detention.
International leaders from the Americas and Europe voiced their condemnation regarding the government’s suppression of opposition figures and called for Machado’s release. In the U.S., the President-elect expressed solidarity with Machado and González, stating, “These freedom fighters should not be harmed and MUST stay SAFE and ALIVE!” on Truth Social.
Supporters of Maduro dismissed claims of Machado’s arrest, alleging that government opponents are spreading false information to incite an international crisis. This latest uproar preceding Maduro’s inauguration has exacerbated ongoing allegations of electoral fraud and severe repression against dissent.
After polls closed on July 28, electoral authorities aligned with Maduro declared him the winner within hours, yet failed to provide detailed vote counts as they had in previous elections. Conversely, opposition figures gathered data from over 80% of electronic voting machines, claiming González received double the votes of Maduro.
Following widespread global condemnation regarding the transparency of the election, Maduro sought an audit from the country’s high court, which is also filled with his allies. The court upheld Maduro’s victory without adequate evidence and urged the electoral council to release vote counts. Nonetheless, both the council and the ruling party have yet to furnish proof of Maduro’s victory. Despite officials having access to tally sheets from each voting machine, no such evidence has been presented.
The U.S.-based Carter Center, invited by the government to observe the election, labeled the opposition’s tallies as credible. Other election experts permitted by the regime to observe the process noted that the polling data published by the opposition retained all original security features.
These disputed results have sparked international outrage and extensive protests nationwide. In response, the government has clamped down, detaining over 2,000 protesters and urging citizens to report anyone suspected of opposing the ruling party. During this unrest, over 20 individuals lost their lives, and reports of torture among detainees have surfaced.
As for the inauguration ceremony planned by the government-controlled National Assembly, it remains unclear if international heads of state will attend. Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, a staunch supporter of Maduro, announced he would skip the event due to the recent detentions of other Venezuelan opposition figures and human rights activists.
In contrast to Maduro’s last inauguration in 2019, where notable figures like Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and former Bolivian President Evo Morales were present, skepticism surrounds this ceremony. The 2018 election was treated as a farce as major opposition parties were barred from participating.
It is also uncertain whether Edmundo González, who went into exile in Spain in September, will keep his promise to return to Venezuela by Friday. Government officials have issued threats of arrest should he return to the country. Recently, González’s son-in-law was reportedly kidnapped in Caracas, and his daughter has suggested that the government may be involved in his disappearance, questioning, “At what point did being related to Edmundo González Urrutia become a crime?”
