Venezuela’s military and police reaffirmed their loyalty to President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday, while the electoral authority in the capital Caracas said it had presented the official election results to the country’s Supreme Court after days of delays.
Crisis-hit Venezuela has been grappling with renewed instability in recent weeks after Maduro was declared the winner of a closely contested presidential election on July 28.
In the latest developments from Caracas, a joint statement from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior said the country’s security forces have reaffirmed their “absolute loyalty to citizen Nicolás Maduro.”
The statement came in response to an open letter from opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo González, who called on soldiers and police officers to side with the people and no longer follow the instructions of the incumbent government.
“We urge you to prevent the regime from unleashing its violent crackdown on the population and to respect the outcome of the July 28 elections and ensure that others respect this outcome,” the statements said.
Machado and González also said that Maduro “has carried out a coup d’état that violates the constitutional order and he wants to make you his accomplices.”
The Venezuelan Public Prosecutor’s Office has subsequently launched an investigation into the two, accusing them of creating a criminal organization, conspiring, usurping power and inciting rebellion.
Machado, meanwhile, encouraged her supporters to stay strong.
“Nobody said it would be easy, but the world must realize that there is no turning back,” Machado said in an audio message posted on social media. “Fear will not paralyze us and we will not leave the streets.”
Machado also stressed the importance of taking a break to prepare for the next phase of the power struggle.
“Sometimes an operational pause is needed to ensure all elements of the strategy are aligned and ready for action.”
At least 11 people have been killed and hundreds arrested in demonstrations since the elections, according to the non-governmental organization Foro Penal.
The opposition has repeatedly accused the government of electoral fraud, while the US and half a dozen Latin American countries have recognized González as the winner.
Electoral authority delivers official results
Furthermore, the Venezuelan electoral authority presented the official election results to the Supreme Court, the country’s highest court.
The court, seen as loyal to Maduro’s authoritarian government, said Monday night that it had received detailed election reports from the National Electoral Council (CNE).
The organization had previously given the CNE three days from Friday to hand over the documents, which would include the full results of individual constituencies and evidence of a cyberattack on the CNE, which the organization’s president, Elvis Amoroso, called a “terrorist” incident, delaying the transfer of official data.
The CNE has been criticized since the election for refusing to publish the official election results. Its website has also been down since the vote.
