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July 30, 2024

Venezuela's Maduro Claims Attempted Coup Underway as Opposition Challenges Vote Tally
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In Venezuela, anti-government protests erupted Monday after Nicolás
Maduro was declared the winner of Sunday's election. Venezuela's
National Electoral Council said Maduro won 51% of the vote, defeating
opposition candidate Edmundo González. But opposition leader María
Corina Machado claims she has proof of fraud.

María Corina Machado: "At this moment, I am very excited to tell
everyone that we have 73.20% of the voting tallies. … And with this
result, our president-elect is Edmundo González Urrutia."

Maduro and election observers accuse the opposition of attempting to
stage a coup. Venezuela's attorney general accused Machado of attempting
to hack elections systems, saying the alleged cyberattack delayed
reporting on vote tallies.

International response to the election has been mixed. China, Cuba,
Honduras, Russia, Iran and Nicaragua congratulated Maduro on his
reelection. Mexico also said it would recognize the election results.
Meanwhile, seven Latin American nations signed a joint letter calling
for a complete review of the election results. Venezuela responded to
the letter by pulling diplomatic staff from the countries: Argentina,
Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Dominican Republic and Uruguay. We will
have more on Venezuela later in the program.


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