United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President Nicolas Maduro discussed the precarious political situation in the South American nation. File
| Photo Credit: AP

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced concern Friday (September 20, 2024) to President Nicolas Maduro about alleged human rights violations in Venezuela, in their first telephone conversation since the disputed July 28 Presidential election.

The men discussed the precarious political situation in the South American nation, and Mr. Guterres “expressed concern over reports of post-elections violence and allegations of human rights violations,” the UN chief’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a daily briefing.

Mr. Guterres “stressed the need to resolve any political dispute peacefully, through genuine and inclusive dialogue,” the spokesman said, adding the secretary-general “took note” of Mr. Maduro’s position on the situation.

The Venezuelan leader, for his part, said the two spoke for 15 minutes and that he explained “the struggle we are waging against fascism” and the “devil,” words he routinely uses to describe the Opposition movement seeking to oust him from power.

Within hours of polls closing on election day, the regime-aligned CNE electoral council declared Mr. Maduro the victor with 52% of votes cast.

The Opposition immediately cried foul and dozens of countries refused to recognize Mr. Maduro’s claim to a third six-year term unless the CNE published a detailed vote breakdown, which it has not.

According to the Opposition, its Presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who has since sought asylum in Spain, obtained more than 60% of the vote.

On Friday seven countries in the Americas — Argentina, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Uruguay — asked the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva to investigate the “grave violations” of rights in Venezuela.

The seven nations have launched an urgent appeal to the council for Caracas to “put an end to the intensification of repression after the last elections and to investigate the serious human rights violations, which could constitute crimes against humanity,” Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The crackdown on protests that followed the announcement of Maduro’s reelection left at least 27 people dead and 192 injured. Some 2,400 people have been arrested, according to official sources.

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.)