Arrests, deaths reported as Venezuelans protest Maduro’s claim of election victory

Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro was under intense pressure on Tuesday as the international community demanded he produce evidence supporting his controversial claim that he won Sunday’s presidential election and thousands of voters took to the streets to protest what they called electoral fraud of historic proportions.

Maduro’s security forces also went out to contain the peaceful demonstration in favor of opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González and his mentor, María Corina Machado, arresting at least 177. Among those detained: opposition leader Freddy Superlano, who was forced out of his vehicle by men dressed in black jumpsuits.

Human rights groups reported that at least 11 people have been killed during the protests held after the regime-controlled National Electoral Council declared that Maduro had won with 51% of the vote. The opposition claims it has proof that the council’s announcement is a lie, and that González actually won with close to 70% of the vote.

As protests intensified in favor of González, Venezuela’s Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, appeared in front of the cameras claiming that Maduro was the victim of a coup attempt launched by extremist groups.

“We are witnessing, quite simply, a coup d’état. A coup d’état plotted once again by these fascist factors of the extremist right, supported of course by the imperial factors, American imperialism and its allies and its lackeys and stooges,” Padrino López said in statements broadcast on state television.

Padrino López said Maduro, as the commander-in-chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, was taking action with the support of the Venezuelan people to stop the overthrow of his government.

Top regime officials also called for the arrest of the opposition’s leadership. National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, one of Maduro’s main allies, said in front of the Venezuelan Congress that the country’s attorney general should arrest González and Machado both.

Maduro under pressure

The National Electoral Council’s declaration that Maduro won Sunday’s election sets up Venezuela’s ruler for a third presidential term that would expire in 2031, extending the socialist revolution initiated by his predecessor and mentor, the late-president Hugo Chávez, into a third decade.

According to the council’s numbers, González only obtained 44.2% of the votes.

But international opinion continued to turn against Maduro on Tuesday, with neighboring Latin American countries demanding the regime produce the properly tallied voter registries showing that he had in fact won. Others, including Peru, flat-out announced that they recognize González as Venezuela’s president elect.

Earlier on Tuesday, General Secretary of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro called on the regime to conduct new elections under a reformed electoral council and under the supervision of OAS and European Union observers. The multilateral group called for an emergency meeting to be held Wednesday afternoon.

READ MORE: U.S. worries violence may follow Maduro’s claim of election victory in Venezuela

The United States, meanwhile, said it has been closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela and called for Maduro officials to release “full, transparent, and detailed voting results,” including by polling station.

“This is especially critical given that there are clear signs that the election results announced by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council do not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people as it was expressed at the ballot box on July 28. We are also reviewing other electoral data shared by civil society organizations and the reports of international election monitors,” NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

In a massive gathering of supporters held Tuesday afternoon in the streets of Caracas, Machado said that they now have 80% of all the official vote tallies produced at the 15,700 voting stations set up in Venezuela to receive more than 21 million registered voters. She said the tallies, called actas de votación, proved that González resoundingly won the election with close to 70% of all votes.

Miami Herald reporter Ana Claudia Chacin contributed to this report.