Venezuela’s Maduro Blames ‘International Zionism’ for Widespread Unrest Following Fraudulent Election
The president says Jews who control social networks, the media, and satellites are financing the protests that have led to the arrests of thousands of Venezuelans
President Maduro of Venezuela is accusing Jews of trying to steal the presidency from him just days after a nationwide election that was condemned by many governments and international organizations as fraudulent. Venezuelan opposition leaders have posted election results showing that Mr. Maduro lost his bid for another term in a landslide.
Mr. Maduro, at a press conference on Saturday, blamed the “extremist right” “supported by international Zionism” for discord in his country, which has been rocked by protests since he was accused of stealing the election. Mr. Maduro
accused Jews of operating social networks, the media, and satellites in order to steal the presidential election from him and his socialist government.
Opposition leaders Edmundo González Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado have encouraged their supporters to make their voices heard in the wake of the election. Mr. Urrutia was the official candidate of the Venezuelan opposition this year after Ms. Machado was barred from running by the country’s supreme court.
Opposition leaders, who had access to tallies of votes on election night, have been
posting their results online showing Mr. Urrutia winning in a landslide with 67 percent of the vote, compared to Mr. Maduro’s 30 percent. The opposition has so far posted more than 80 percent of all vote results.
The United States has recognized Mr. Urrutia as the rightful president-elect of Venezuela, though Mr. Maduro has been defiant in the days since the election.
“The United States rejects Maduro’s unsubstantiated allegations against opposition leaders. Maduro and his representatives’ threats to arrest opposition leaders, including Edmundo González and María Corina Machado, are an undemocratic attempt to repress political participation and retain power,” Secretary Blinken said in a statement on Friday.
Other left-wing leaders in South and Central America have yet to call on Mr. Maduro to step down, instead saying that the entire vote count must be released before judgment should be passed. President da Silva of Brazil, President Petro of Colombia, and President Lopez Obrador of Mexico said in a joint statement on Thursday that there should be an “impartial” study and release of the vote count, as well as an end to political violence in the country.
On Sunday, leaders in Congress issued a bipartisan, bicameral condemnation of Mr. Maduro. “We stand united in condemning the Maduro regime’s ongoing attempts to blatantly undermine the will of the Venezuelan people, pushing the country deeper into a political and humanitarian crisis,” wrote five Senate and House lawmakers, all of whom serve as leaders of various committees that deal with national security, foreign affairs, and intelligence issues.
“The overwhelming evidence, including an estimated 80 percent of vote tallies published online, clearly indicates that the Maduro regime is actively attempting to conceal the truth that Edmundo González is the rightful President-elect of Venezuela,” the lawmakers added. “Despite deploying nearly every tactic of authoritarianism to undermine the electoral process and secure a regime victory, the Maduro regime could not deter the Venezuelan people from turning out in droves — peacefully and bravely — to vote for change and a better future.”
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