The regime of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro is conducting mass arrests of opposition leaders following nationwide protests over elections that campaigners believe the regime has stolen.
The situation across the country is continuing to deteriorate after the presidential election on July 28. The electoral authority, which is controlled by the government, declared Maduro the winner, but the opposition says it has proof that its candidate, Edmundo González, won by a landslide.
The electoral council has so far declined to publish a detailed breakdown of the result. The Maduro government has blamed a cyberattack for the delay.
Protesters took to the streets across the country after the result declaration, in what many saw as the biggest challenge yet to 25 years of socialist rule. The protests have, for the time being, subsided, but arrests of leading opposition figures have continued in an operation dubbed “Tun Tun,” or “Knock Knock.”
Last week, María Oropeza, an opposition leader, broadcast live on Instagram as police broke into her home and took her away. According to news outlet La Patilla, she was heard saying, “I ask for help, I ask for help from everyone I can, I did nothing wrong. I am not a criminal, I am just another citizen who wants a different country. God and the Virgin always accompany me.”
Meanwhile, Carlos Chancellor, an opposition politician in Bolívar state has also reportedly been arrested. He is the father of footballer Jhon Chancellor, who plays for the national team.
Pro-democracy group Foro Penal have calculated that there have so far been 780 verified arrests, although the real number may be much higher.
Western nations, and several South American governments, have questioned the official election results.
President Gabirel Boric of Chile said on Wednesday: “I have no doubt that Maduro’s government has attempted to commit fraud in Venezuela’s election.” He added that Chile would refuse to recognise the result.
Meanwhile, Santiago Abascal, president of the right-wing Spanish party VOX, has written to the presidents of all the groups in the European Parliament asking them to join him in calling for the EU to recognise opposition candidate Edmundo González as the legitimate president of Venezuela.
