Two Venezuelan army captains have called on the army to dislodge President Nicolas Maduro from power as protests over the election results continue to ravage the South American nation.
Thousands of people descended on central Caracas on Monday evening, some walking for miles from slums on the mountains surrounding the city, towards the presidential palace after President Nicolás Maduro claimed victory despite results online showing that Maduro only got 30 percent of the vote with Edmundo González winning convincingly.
Opinion polls ahead of the election suggested a clear victory for the challenger after opposition parties had united behind Mr González in an attempt to unseat President Maduro after 11 years in power, amid widespread discontent over the country’s economic crisis.
Crowds of people chanted “freedom, freedom!” and called for the government to fall were evident on social media as .
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 two Army captains, Javier and Juan Carlos Nieto Quintero in a video asked the army to fight for the soul of the nation and support the people who voted against a Maduro government.
🚨🚨BREAKING: Venezuelan Army Captains Javier and Juan Carlos Nieto Quintero just issued a message to the rest of the Venezuelan Armed Forces to step in and force socialist election thief Nicolás Maduro out of power
"It is evident that we have a new president-elect."
"Remember,… pic.twitter.com/7ElN3fXYSu
— ⚜️💎👑 Queen Katerina 👑💎⚜️ (@QueenDarbyy) July 30, 2024
In a speech on Venezuelan state television, Maduro said it is his “obligation to tell you the truth”.
“We are all under the obligation to listen the truth, to gear up with patience, calmness and strength because we are familiar with this movie and we know how to face these situations and how to defeat the violent.”
Maduro 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.
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“They are trying to impose in Venezuela a coup d’etat again of fascist and counter-revolutionary character.”