Protests erupted in Venezuela on July 29 in the wake of a disputed election result in which both President Nicolas Maduro and his opponent, Edmundo Gonzalez, claimed victory.
The Venezuelan Conflict Observatory, an advocacy group, reported on social media about clashes between some protesters and security forces. The group said that more than 180 protests occurred in 20 of the country’s 23 states.
“Numerous acts of repression and violence carried out by paramilitary collectives and security forces have been reported,” the group wrote in a July 29 post on the social media platform X.
On Monday, protesters tore down a statue of Hugo Chavez, Mr. Maduro’s late mentor, who was elected in 1999 and died in 2013. Mr. Chavez ushered in an era of socialist rule in the country.
Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition party, said at a press conference on Monday that the opposition had proof that her party defeated Mr. Maduro’s ruling party in the July 28 election.
She said that the 73 percent of tallied votes accessible to the opposition showed Mr. Gonzalez had won a clear victory, securing more than twice as many votes as Mr. Maduro.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan election officials said on Monday that Mr. Maduro had won a third six-year term, with 51 percent of the vote.
Both the ruling party and the opposition have called on their supporters to march.
Ms. Machado wrote in a July 30 X post, “My dear Venezuelans, tomorrow we meet; as a family, organized, demonstrating the determination we have to make every vote count and defend the truth.”
Mr. Maduro’s campaign manager, Jorge Rodriguez, who is a ruling party lawmaker, also urged supporters to march to the Miraflores Palace (the official residence of the president) to support the ruling party.
Mr. Maduro, 61, who said he supports peace, said on state television on Monday night: “We have been following all of the acts of violence promoted by the extreme right. I can tell the people of Venezuela that if they have done harm, we are acting.
“We already know this movie, so once more, long with the civil, military and police union we are acting. We already know how they operate.”
The United States considers Mr. Maduro’s reelection in 2018 fraudulent. He took office from Hugo Chavez after the former leader died in 2013. Mr. Maduro has been called a dictator by world leaders.
Supporters of the opposition had hoped a change of government would spare them from another six-year term for Mr. Maduro.
Under his leadership, Venezuela’s economy has collapsed, a third of the population has migrated elsewhere, and diplomatic relations have deteriorated. The United States, the European Union, and others have imposed sanctions on the country, crippling its struggling oil industry.
The Biden administration gave Mr. Maduro relief from the Trump-era oil sanctions, along with other forms of relief, in exchange for his promise to hold fair elections monitored by neutral international observers.
The United States, the United Nations, and other countries have called for Venezuela’s National Electoral Council to publish the complete tabulation of the votes from the precincts.
A Biden administration official told reporters on July 29 that the independent figures it had was “at odds” with the results announced by the Venezuelan authorities.
The official said that if there is resistance to providing transparency “then I think that becomes highly problematic when it comes to the ability of the United States or other members of the international community to judge whether these elections were in fact inclusive and credible.”
White House national security adviser John Kirby said on July 29 that Venezuelans cast their votes in a totalitarian environment, calling it admirable. He said that the United States is concerned that the election results don’t “reflect the will and the votes of the Venezuelan people.”
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told journalists in New York that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “calls for complete transparency and encourages the timely publication of the election results and a breakdown by polling stations.”
According to Venezuela’s opposition party, a total of 2.75 million votes were cast for Mr. Maduro and 6.27 million for his opponent, Mr. Gonzalez.
This is in stark contrast to the electoral authority’s tallies, which declared the incumbent, Mr. Maduro, the winner with 5.15 million votes (51 percent). The electoral authority said that Mr. Gonzalez received 4.45 million votes (44 percent).
