Security forces in Venezuela have deployed tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters demonstrating over the disputed results of Sunday’s election.
On Monday evening, thousands of people gathered in central Caracas, with some walking for miles from surrounding slums to reach the presidential palace.
Protests erupted in the Venezuelan capital following President Nicolás Maduro’s claim of victory. The opposition has labeled Maduro’s victory as fraudulent, asserting that their candidate, Edmundo González, won decisively with 73.2% of the vote.
Opinion polls prior to the election indicated a clear lead for González. Opposition parties had united behind him in an effort to remove Maduro, who has been in power for 11 years, amid widespread dissatisfaction with the country’s economic crisis.
Several Western and Latin American countries, along with international organizations such as the UN, have urged Venezuelan authorities to release voting records from individual polling stations.
Argentina has refused to recognize Maduro’s election win, prompting Venezuela to recall its diplomats from Buenos Aires. Diplomats from six other Latin American countries—Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay—have also been withdrawn, with Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil labeling their actions as “interventionist.”
Additionally, Venezuela has announced a temporary suspension of commercial flights to and from Panama and the Dominican Republic, effective from 20:00 local time on Wednesday.
A heavy military and police presence, including water cannons, has been deployed in Caracas to disperse protesters and prevent them from approaching the presidential palace. Protesters chanted “Freedom, freedom!” and demanded the government’s removal.
Footage showed burning tyres on highways and large crowds in the streets, with police on motorbikes using tear gas. In some areas, Maduro’s posters were torn down and burned, while tyres, cars, and rubbish were also set on fire.
Armed police, military and left-wing paramilitaries who are sympathetic to the government clashed with protesters and blocked off many roads around the city centre.
The BBC spoke to a number of people who attended one protest in a densely-populated area known as La Lucha, meaning “the fight”.
Paola Sarzalejo, 41, said the vote was “terrible, fraud. We won with 70%, but they did the same thing to us again. They took the elections from us again.
“We want a better future for our youth, for our country.”
Her father Miguel, 64, agreed, saying: “He lost the elections, he has no right to be there right now.”
He added: “We want a better future for the youth because if not they will leave the country. One where they can work well and earn well. We have a rich country and he is destroying everything.
“If the youth all leave, only old people will be left in Venezuela, only senior citizens.”
Cristobal Martinez, draped in a Venezuelan flag, said he thought the election was a “fraud”.
He said most young people in La Lucha and surrounding areas had voted in an election that was particularly important for young people as “many of us are unemployed” and “the majority do not study”.
“It was the first time I have voted in my life. I was there from six in the morning until approximately nine in the morning and I saw a lot of people mobilising in the street.
“There was a lot of discontent towards the government. The majority of people were participating for change.”
He stated that while President Maduro has been in office for a long time, there has been “no change,” and conditions have worsened since President Chávez’s death.
He accused some older supporters of the government of benefiting from bonuses or food handouts, while expressing that “we want change, we want decent jobs, and a better future for our country.”
Mr Martinez said he wanted “people from other countries to help us… so that a disaster doesn’t happen like in previous times”.
Mr Maduro has accused the opposition of calling for a coup by disputing the results. “This is not the first time we are facing what we are facing today,” he said.
“They are trying to impose in Venezuela a coup d’etat again of fascist and counter-revolutionary character.”
The Venezuelan attorney general warned that any road blockages or law-breaking related to protest disturbances would be met with the full force of the law. He also announced that 32 people had been detained on charges ranging from destroying electoral materials to inciting violence.
Meanwhile, senior US administration officials stated that the announced election results “do not align with data we’ve received through quick count mechanisms and other sources,” suggesting that the results may not reflect the actual vote.
“This discrepancy is our principal concern,” they said, adding, “That is why we are asking Venezuelan electoral authorities to release the underlying data supporting their announced numbers.”
However, the US has not yet clarified how the results might affect their sanctions policy towards Venezuela. Officials noted that while they have reservations about the results, President Maduro did call an election and allowed an opposition candidate on the ballot, despite the leader being banned from running.
The Organization of American States (OAS) announced late Monday that it will convene a meeting of its permanent council on Wednesday to discuss the Venezuelan election results.