Caracas to Recall Its Ambassador From Brazil Over “Repeated Interventionist and Rude Statements”
Brazil is among the countries that have not recognized President Nicolás Maduro as the victor of a disputed July election and recently blocked Venezuela’s entry into a list of BRICS partner countries; Brazil’s government did not immediately comment (Reuters)
Venezuelan Emigration Rose Nearly 70 Percent Between September and October
The staggering increase follows widespread public concerns about election tampering in the 2024 Venezuelan presidential vote, as well as growing political repression by the Maduro administration (FT)
Venezuelan Opposition Political Leader Killed After Police Detention
Edwin Santos’ body was found two days after his detainment and disappearance by Venezuelan state security forces (Reuters)
Members of Santos’ Voluntad Popular party claimed the alleged murder was an act of political retaliation by the Maduro government against political dissent (Al Jazeera)
Venezuela Detains Five Foreigners on Terrorism Charges, Including Three U.S. Citizens
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello Rondón alleged that the foreign nationals were conspiring with U.S. entities to destabilize the government, but he did not provide evidence (Reuters)
Arrests of a similar nature occurred last month, in which Cabello Rondón accused six foreign nationals of traveling to the country to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro (AP)
Venezuela Cancels Passports for More Than Forty Journalists and Activists
Individuals had their passports confiscated at airports and while overseas without explanation, according to Laboratorio de Paz, a Venezuelan rights group; rights groups say the crackdown is part of an intensifying campaign of repression after President Nicolás Maduro’s contested reelection win in July (FT)
Northward Migration of Venezuelans Through Panama Increased After Election
Since Venezuela’s crackdown after its heavily disputed July election, the number of irregular Venezuelan migrants traveling north-bound through the jungle border between Panama and Colombia has sharply trended up, Refugees International said; the total number of migrants who passed through the border area, known as the Darién Gap, stands at around the same level as this time last year, but with a spike from August to September, according to Panamanian government numbers (AP)
Former Presidential Candidate to Return to Venezuela in January 2025
Edmundo Gonzalez plans to return to Venezuela in January 2025 to assume the presidency after the “restoration of democracy” in his home country; the former presidential candidate fled to Spain in September following an arrest warrant by Venezuelan authorities (Reuters)
Venezuela Misses Shortlist for BRICS Membership
Though Venezuela wants membership in the BRICS grouping as it plans another expansion, the country did not make the list of new potential members circulated at a New York ministerial meeting this week, three unnamed Brazilian officials told Bloomberg; Brasília grew uncomfortable with a potential invitation following Caracas’s fraught July election (Bloomberg)
Argentina, Venezuela Exchange Arrest Warrants for Each Other’s Presidents
The two countries are waging an arrest tit-for-tatafter Argentina’s federal judicial body requested the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for human rights violations; Venezuela’s attorney general then said he requested that Interpol issue an arrest warrant for Argentine President Javier Milei (Reuters)
Venezuela Announces Detentions of Six Foreigners, Including Three U.S. Citizens
Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said authorities had arrested three U.S. citizens, two Spaniards, and a Czech due to a suspected assassination plot against the president; while Cabello accused the U.S. government of “links to this operation,” the U.S. State Department said that “any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false” (CBS/AFP)
Washington Sanctions Sixteen Senior Venezuelan Officials for Role in Election
The allies of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro obstructed a competitive and inclusive election process in Venezuela, the U.S. Treasury Department said; they include the head of Venezuela’s high court, directors of state security forces, and prosecutors (AP,Department of Treasury)
Venezuela’s Opposition Candidate Flees to Spain in Post-Election Crisis
Spain granted asylum to Edmundo González Urrutia, a candidate in Venezuela’s July election that the United States says won the most votes, but whom Venezuelan authorities had threatened to arrest; González had spent weeks in hiding in what has become a fraught post-election impasse (BBC,U.S. Department of State)
Venezuelan election authorities proclaimed President Nicolás Maduro the winner at the polls without releasing detailed voting data; in response to mass demonstrations pouring into Venezuela’s streets to dispute Maduro’s victory, authorities have jailed thousands, and dozens more have died in the context of demonstrations (AP)
González pledged to continue the fight for democracy in Venezuela from Spain; his fellow opposition figurehead María Corina Machado said that he chose to leave because his life was in danger (Reuters)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called González’s departure “the direct result of the antidemocratic measures” by the Venezuelan government and said that “the will of the people cannot be merely swept aside by Maduro” (CNN)
Venezuela Issues Arrest Warrant for Former Opposition Candidate
Venezuelan authorities doled out a warrant to arrest Edmundo González Urrutia, who is in hiding and whom the United States and several other countries said beat President Nicolás Maduro in the country’s July presidential election; the warrant accused González Urrutia of crimes including usurpation, forgery of a public document, instigation, and sabotage (WaPo)
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities seized Maduro’s plane in the Dominican Republic and flew it to Florida yesterday after they found it was violating sanctions (WSJ)
Protests Mark One Month Since Disputed Presidential Election
Supporters of the country’s opposition marked a month since the country’s disputed election with demonstrations against President Nicolás Maduro’s claim of victory; authorities have continued a string of arrests of opposition figures, including at least two reported on Tuesday, opposition groups said (Reuters)
Maduro Appoints Allies to Prominent Cabinet Positions
President Nicolás Maduro promoted allies to the oil ministry, joint interior, and justice ministry as part of a cabinet shake-up for his third presidential term coming out of last month’s disputed election; new oil minister Delcy Rodríguez will also continue a role as vice president. (Bloomberg)
Venezuela’s Supreme Court Backs Maduro in Election Dispute
The court, which is full of allies to President Nicolás Maduro, backed his claim that he won the country’s July 28 presidential election despite the lack of evidence that Maduro garnered enough votes (NYT)
Opposition candidate Edmundo González, who has presented partial data suggesting he won the vote, said “an attempt to judicialize the results doesn’t change the truth” (AP)
Venezuelans Worldwide Protest in Support of Opposition’s Victory Claims in Election
Demonstrations spread in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and across the world including Australia, Japan, and Mexico; protesters voiced support for the main opposition alliance’s affirmation that it won the July 28 presidential vote even though election authorities said President Nicolás Maduro was the winner (AP)
Mexico’s President Says He Will Step Back From Efforts to Mediate Post-election Crisis
Meanwhile, the leaders of Brazil and Colombia suggested a new vote could solve the impasse; prominent Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado rejected that suggestion (FT)
Venezuela’s opposition say they have proof they won the July 28 presidential election while election authorities assert that President Nicolás Maduro won, though they have not presented detailed vote data (Reuters)
UN Expert Panel Slams Lack of Basic Transparency in Venezuelan Election
A four-expert panel that observed Venezuela’s July 28 vote said election day was “logistically well organized,” but the fact that the election authorities failed to release detailed data on the results “has no precedent in contemporary democratic elections” (WaPo)
Venezuela’s Maduro Blocks Social Media Platform X
President Nicolás Maduro ordered a ten-day suspension on access to X, saying its owner Elon Musk had “incited hatred;” the move comes amid widespread dissent over the government’s unwillingness to release detailed results of July’s presidential election, which Maduro says he won (AP)
Venezuela’s Top Prosecutor Opens Criminal Probe Into Opposition Presidential Candidate Edmundo González Urrutia and Opposition Leader María Corina Machado
The investigation was launched after the opposition leaders called on the armed forces to abandon the government’s claim it won the election (AP)
Venezuelan Authorities Say They Detained Two Thousand Protesters Following Election
President Nicolás Maduro announced the arrest tally on Saturday as demonstrations calling for a fair and transparent vote count continued; election authorities say Maduro won without providing detailed voting data, while the opposition has produced detailed vote receipts that suggest they had a sweeping victory (AP)
The leaders of European countries including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain joined calls for the publication of detailed voting data and condemnations of violence (Politico)
Washington Recognizes Venezuelan Opposition Candidate as Election Winner
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there is “overwhelming evidence” that Edmundo González Urrutia won Venezuela’s Sunday election, despite the fact that election authorities named President Nicolás Maduro the victor; Blinken called for Venezuelan parties “to begin discussions on a respectful, peaceful transition in accordance with Venezuelan electoral law” (NYT)
Colombian President Calls for Verifiable Vote Count in Venezuelan Election
Colombia’s leftist president Gustavo Petro joined international calls for Venezuela to publish detailed and verifiable results from its Sunday presidential election; Petro’s call is notable as in the past, he has aligned with Maduro on many issues (Bloomberg)
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro said he won the election but electoral authorities have broken from tradition in failing to produce disaggregated polling data (AP)
International Expert Group Says It Can’t Verify Venezuela Vote, Slams Lack of Transparency
The U.S.-based Carter Center had a technical mission of seventeen experts in Venezuela during its Sunday election and said that electoral authorities’ failure to announce disaggregated results by polling station is “a serious breach of electoral principles,” adding that the vote “cannot be considered democratic;” Venezuela’s opposition says it has evidence that it won the vote (AP)
As nationwide demonstrations surged against the government’s announcement of its own victory, Venezuela’s attorney general said more than seven hundred demonstrators have been arrested (CNN)