The announcement comes after a week of demonstrations, police clashes, and growing calls for the head of state to release election data.
Post-election demonstrations in Venezuela continue as pressure mounts against disputed leader Nicolás Maduro, who has firmly stood his ground amid ongoing calls to release voting details from the July 28 general election. In the streets, clashes between Venezuelan security forces and protesters have resulted in at least 20 deaths, according to Human Rights Watch.
On Aug. 3, Maduro announced that 2,000 civilian arrests have been made and denounced those who contest his administration.
“This time, there will be no forgiveness,” Maduro said during an Aug. 3 rally of his supporters in Caracas, Venezuela. “We have 2,000 prisoners captured, and from there, they will go to Tocorón and Tocuyito [prisons], maximum punishment, justice.”
During what Maduro supporters called a “grand national march for the defense of peace,” allies of the disputed head of state gathered outside the presidential palace of Miraflores, while Maduro delivered a fiery address that condemned the opposition-led protests.
Maduro called for the arrest of opposition leader María Corina Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo González for “electoral fraud,” and demanded criminal sentences of 15 years to 30 years in prison. Court authorities in Caracas reportedly issued an arrest warrant for Machado on July 31 for challenging the accuracy of the election results and encouraging protesters.
However, demonstrators are standing their ground after a week of protests, saying they believe that there is evidence that shows González won the July 28 general election.
Standing on a truck surrounded by other members of the nation’s largest anti-Chavez coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform, Machado appeared before a crowd of opposition supporters on Aug. 3 to encourage Venezuelans to fight for election integrity in the country.
“After 6 days of brutal repression, they thought they were going to silence us, stop us, or intimidate us … look at the response,” Machado posted alongside a video of the opposition rally on the social media platform X.
Después de 6 días de brutal represión, creyeron que nos iban a callar, a parar o atemorizar… miren la respuesta.
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) August 3, 2024
Hoy, la presencia de que cada ciudadano en las calles de Venezuela demuestra la magnitud de la fuerza cívica que tenemos y la determinación de llegar hasta el… pic.twitter.com/O8u4EDcsSR
“Today, the presence of each citizen on the streets of Venezuela demonstrates the magnitude of the civic strength we have and the determination to go to the end.”
