Venezuelan Opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Relatives of prisoners detained in a post-election crackdown wait outside of Tocuyito Prison after a visit, in Tocuyito, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro labeled them as terrorists on national television. They were plucked from pharmacies, apartment buildings and other locations, and thrown in prison for months. Many then endured severe beatings, food deprivation and other forms of torture. Virtually all developed stomach infections and lost weight. Three died.

More than 2,200 people were detained after Venezuela’s July presidential election, when civil unrest broke out over Mr. Maduro’s claim to victory. With dissent firmly squelched, the government has slowly released nearly 1,900 of the mostly poor, politically unaffiliated twenty-somethings.

Tearful reunions with family, some as recently as Friday (January 31, 2025), have brought them an immense sense of relief, but it vanishes with the realization that they are not truly free, neither physically nor mentally.

Now at home, the former detainees, particularly those who participated in post-election demonstrations, must also cope with the disappointment that the votes they defended on the streets did not push Mr. Maduro out of office or produce the change they hoped for.

“You go home, see your loved ones and get drunk on happiness, but 24-48 hours later, reality hits you,” a man who was detained for more than five months told The Associated Press. “What is the reality? My fundamental rights were violated, and I am still at the mercy of the same government.”

The man and relatives of other former detainees narrated to AP how the government’s repressive apparatus wrecked their lives after the July 28 election. Most spoke under the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the government or its network of ruling-party loyalists who through physical force and control of state subsidies quash dissent.

Former detainees suffer insomnia, cannot be among crowds and tremble at the sight of a police officer. They have heart conditions not typical of young adults. They are worse off financially than before the election and cannot find work partly because their IDs were seized during their arrests.

They feel doubly insulted having to tap into the government’s precarious health, food and cash programs, but some see no other alternatives.

The families of the former detainees are indebted to loan sharks and acquaintances after spending hundreds of dollars in transportation as well as meals, medicines, toiletries and other items not provided by the corrections system. Some mothers sob at night. Others silently carry the guilt that comes from having their children home again while other families are still making prison visits.

“The intimidation to which we are being subjected – the psychological damage that they are causing us – is the worst thing that can be done to a population… with a desire for freedom,” the mother of a former detainee said. “That is terrorism.”

Millions of Venezuelans expressed their desire for a change in government in the July election but electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared Mr. Maduro the winner hours after polls closed without providing detailed vote counts, unlike in previous elections.

Meanwhile, the country’s main opposition coalition collected tally sheets from 85% of electronic voting machines showing that its candidate, Edmundo González, won by a more than a two-to-one margin.

The dispute over the results sparked nationwide protests. The government responded with force, arresting more than 2,200 people, even if they had not participated in the demonstrations, and encouraging Venezuelans to report anyone they suspected of being a ruling-party adversary. More than 20 people were killed during the unrest.

Throughout Mr. Maduro’s presidency, state security forces have carried out mass arrests but never like last year’s in terms of time span or primary demographic.

Previous protests were led primarily by young, college-educated, middle- and upper-class Venezuelans of European descent who openly embraced the country’s political opposition. But at the end of July, those on the streets were adolescents and young adults whose lives have been marked by poverty and letdowns from Maduro’s government.

“They were the children and grandchildren of the people who voted for Hugo Chávez,” Oscar Murillo, head of the Venezuelan human rights group Provea, said referring to Maduro’s predecessor. “They did not identify with the opposition. They came out in rejection of the poor management of the election results.”

In prison, however, part of the detainees were forced to wear uniforms in a shade of blue associated in Venezuela to an opposition party.

As time wore on inside overcrowded and sweltering cells, a few attempted suicide, some leaned into prayer and many were convinced they would all be freed by Jan. 11, the day after the presidential term, by law, begins in Venezuela. Those fixated on that deadline were banking on Mr. González fulfilling his promise to return from exile and be sworn in as President.

Not only did Mr. González not return, his son-in-law was also detained and remains in custody.

Since being released, former detainees and their loved ones now pray for health, work and a new president. But they have sworn off politics.

“They instilled fear in political participation, which does a huge amount of damage to any society that wants progress and development in any country,” the former detainee said.

Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Venezuela’s former opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, on Wednesday (September 18, 2024) said he was coerced into signing a letter effectively recognising his defeat in July’s presidential election, which electoral authorities claim was won by President Nicolas Maduro.

The revelation of the letter is the latest strain to the country’s political crisis, which was exacerbated by the disputed election results and Mr. Gonzalez’s recent departure for exile in Spain. Mr. Gonzalez and the Unitary Platform coalition he represented on July 28 claim they defeated Maduro by a wide margin.

The document states it was meant to be confidential, but Jorge Rodriguez, head of the National Assembly and Mr. Maduro’s chief negotiator, presented it during a nationally televised press conference hours after a local news outlet published parts of it. The letter shows Mr. Gonzalez as the sender and is addressed to Mr. Rodriguez, who signed it as recipient.

Mr. Rodriguez told reporters Mr. Gonzalez signed the letter of his own volition. Mr. Gonzalez, however, in a video posted on social media said he signed it under duress.

“They showed up with a document that I would have to sign to allow my departure from the country,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “In other words, either I signed or I would face consequences. There were very tense hours of coercion, blackmail and pressure.”

Mr. Rodriguez, questioned about Mr. Gonzalez’s video message, threatened to reveal audio of his conversations with Mr. Gonzalez if he did not take back his assertions.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Mr. Maduro loyalists, declared Mr. Maduro the election winner hours after polls closed. Unlike previous presidential elections, electoral authorities did not provide detailed vote counts.

But the opposition coalition collected tally sheets from 80% of the nation’s electronic voting machines and posted them online. Mr. Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said the voting records showed the former diplomat won the election with twice as many votes as Mr. Maduro.

Mr. Gonzalez then became the subject of an arrest warrant over an investigation into the publishing of the tally sheets.

Global condemnation over the lack of transparency prompted Mr. Maduro to ask Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice, whose members are aligned with the ruling party, to audit the results. The high court reaffirmed his victory.

Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Machado, other opposition leaders and foreign governments questioned the audit’s results. However, in the letter made public Wednesday, Mr. Gonzalez admitted that while he does not agree with the tribunal’s ruling, “I abide by it because it is a resolution of the highest court of the Republic.”

In contrast, in his video message, he called himself the “elected president of millions and millions of Venezuelans” and promised to “fulfil” their mandate.

Venezuela’s next presidential term begins January 10 and lasts six years.

Caracas:

Venezuela’s former presidential opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has left for Spain in the wake of the South American country’s contested election, Venezuelan and Spanish officials said on Saturday night after a day of rising diplomatic tensions.

Gonzalez, 75, who ran against President Nicolas Maduro in July, left after “voluntarily seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago,” Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez posted on Instagram.

“Edmundo Gonzalez has taken off from Caracas heading to Spain on a Spanish Air Force plane,” Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares posted on X, saying Madrid was responding to a request from Gonzalez.

Gonzalez’s exit from Venezuela is the latest political development since the country’s election on July 28. Democracies around the world have criticized the Venezuelan government’s handling of the vote, which election officials and its top court say was won by Maduro.

Venezuela’s opposition say the election resulted in a resounding victory for Gonzalez, and published vote tallies online that they say show he won.

This week prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez in connection to the online publication of the tallies, accusing him of usurping functions, falsifying public documents and conspiracy, among other charges.

Earlier on Saturday, Venezuela’s government revoked Brazil’s authorization to represent Argentine interests in the country, including administering the embassy where six opposition figures are sheltering.

Venezuela broke relations with Argentina after the presidential election. Brazil, like Colombia and Mexico, has asked the Venezuelan government to publish the full results of the vote.

The government has not done so and the country’s electoral authority said Maduro won re-election for a third term.

In a statement, Venezuela said the decision, effective immediately, was due to proof that the embassy was being used to plan assassination attempts against Maduro and Rodriguez.

Brazil said it had received the communication that its authorization had been revoked “with surprise.” Argentina said it rejected the “unilateral” decision. Both countries urged Maduro to respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

“Any attempt to invade or kidnap asylum seekers who remain in our official residence will be harshly condemned by the international community,” Argentina said in a statement. “Actions like these reinforce the conviction that in Maduro’s Venezuela, fundamental human rights are not respected.”

A Brazilian diplomatic source said on Saturday afternoon that Venezuela had assured Brazil it would not invade the embassy.

In its statement, Brazil insisted it would remain in custody and defense of Argentine interests until Argentina indicated another state acceptable to Venezuela to do so.

“The Brazilian government highlights in this context, under the terms of the Vienna Conventions, the inviolability of the facilities of the Argentine diplomatic mission,” it said, adding that it housed six Venezuelan asylum seekers, assets and archives.

The escalation in the spat between the South American countries was first reported by Reuters.

In March, six people sought asylum in the Argentine embassy in Caracas after a prosecutor ordered their arrest on charges including conspiracy. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has denied the allegations against her collaborators.

On Friday night, some opposition members in the Argentine residence reported on their X accounts that the building was under surveillance and had no electricity. They posted videos showing men dressed in black and patrols from the government intelligence agency, SEBIN.

Argentina’s Foreign Ministry asked the International Criminal Court on Friday to issue an arrest warrant against Maduro and other senior government officials for events that occurred after the elections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

CARACAS:

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in the country’s presidential election in the early hours of Monday morning, even as the country’s opposition said its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez was the victor and it had the polling to prove it.

WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE COUNT?

The country’s electoral authority (CNE) said just after midnight on Monday that Maduro had won a third six-year term with 51% of the vote.

The authority said Gonzalez won 44%, but opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said opposition candidate Gonzalez had secured 70% of the vote and that multiple independent exit polls and quick counts decisively showed his victory.

Gonzalez said he was not calling for supporters to take to the streets or commit any acts of violence and Machado said the opposition has copies of about 40% of voting records.

Edison Research, known for its polling of U.S. elections, had predicted in an exit poll that Gonzalez would win 65% of the vote, while Maduro would win 31%.

Local firm Meganalisis predicted a 65% vote for Gonzalez and just under 14% for Maduro.

WAS VOTING PEACEFUL?

The government said that except for some isolated minor incidents, voting was peaceful.

Motorcycle-riding ruling party supporters known as ‘collectives’ clashed briefly in the evening with opposition supporters outside the country’s largest polling place, a school in central Caracas.

Armed collectives were reported in at least six other locations, according to a local NGO, which also reported the gun death of one man in the border state of Tachira during a confrontation with collective members.

The tense campaign was marked by arrests of opposition figures and other moves by the authorities that the opposition said were meant to prevent a fair election.

Maduro, a former bus driver who was the hand-picked successor of his mentor Hugo Chavez, has been in power since Chavez’s death in 2013.

His government has presided over a sharp economic and social deterioration. The U.S. reimposed oil sanctions in April, accusing Maduro of reneging on deals reached with the opposition to ensure free elections.

WHO IS GONZALEZ?

A long-time but low-profile member of the opposition, Gonzalez, 74, a former diplomat, is known for his calm demeanor.

He was originally registered as a placeholder in March, after neither primary winner Machado nor her alternate were able to register. In April, he was named as the opposition’s definitive candidate.

Machado, 56, has thrown herself into campaigning for Gonzalez.

The two – speaking to large crowds around the country – have employed emotional rhetoric, including about their hope for the many who have emigrated from Venezuela in recent years to return home.

WHAT WAS THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE?

The United States has serious concerns that the results announced by the electoral authority do not reflect the votes of the people, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, asking that a detailed tabulation of votes be published.

Meanwhile, reactions from Latin American leaders were mixed.

Argentine President Javier Milei called the official result fraud, while Costa Rica and Peru rejected it and Chile said it would not accept any result that was not verifiable.

Cuba, Honduras and Bolivia cheered Maduro’s victory.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)