Venezuela has reached the limits of civility, politics, and diplomacy. An election that the United Nations and the Carter Center said lacked both transparency and integrity was held on July 28. Opposition candidate Edmundo González beat the socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro in a landslide. Almost 4 million votes were the difference between the two candidates, the largest margin in the history of any election in Venezuela. To prove these results, the opposition party carried out an almost clandestine scheme for months to obtain and upload voting tallies for all to see.
These data have unequivocally exposed the fraud implemented and ratified by the regime’s Electoral Council and Supreme Court. Now, the regime, the world, and Venezuelans know the truth. Facing these facts, the regime has decided to ramp up the brutal repression that Venezuelans have faced for years. One month after the election, 27 people have been killed by security forces and regime-backed armed groups; almost 1,700 people have been illegally detained, including 107 teenagers and 216 women. They are being held in common jails with real criminals facing heavy torture and sexual abuse. Moreover, the Military Counterintelligence Agency has launched a “knock-knock” operation targeting anyone who has worked in the opposition campaign or has shown support for González or his fellow opposition leader, María Corina Machado, on social media. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has defined these savage practices as state terrorism.
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