Maduro Struggles To Hang Onto Power In Venezuela

Public Enemy No. 1 Venezuela As Venezuelan authorities continue to intensify their crackdown on the political opposition following the disputed July 28 presidential elections, a court in the South American country ordered the arrest of former presidential candidate Edmundo González, the Washington Post reported. González, 75, is wanted on a slew of charges, including usurpation, forgery of public documents and sabotage, authorities said Monday. The charges are linked to González’s alleged involvement in posting alternative vote results online, which showed him defeating incumbent President Nicolás Maduro. The opposition candidate has gone into hiding to avoid arrest following the July vote. At the time, Venezuela’s electoral council – which is seen as being under Maduro’s influence – declared the incumbent as the winner of that poll, prompting accusations of fraud and irregularities. Last month, the opposition published the receipts from more than 23,000 voting machines that showed González received more than twice the number of votes as Maduro. However, the electoral council has not released detailed voting results and the Maduro administration has begun persecuting the opposition and its supporters, forcing many of them to go into hiding, according to CNN. The arrest warrant for González is expected to draw criticism from the United States and Latin American leaders. Washington and other international bodies have expressed strong opposition to Maduro’s actions and called for respect for democratic processes. The Biden administration, along with leaders from Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico, has been pushing for negotiations with Maduro, though these efforts have seen limited success. Monday’s arrest warrant came shortly after the US seized a luxury aircraft allegedly purchased illegally and smuggled for Maduro’s use. Later that day, Bloomberg reported that the US Treasury Department would soon announce sanctions against 15 officials linked to Maduro.