The opposition and key regional neighbors have not accepted the declared election result.
Widespread protests have erupted in Venezuela after the country’s electoral commission declared the president Nicolas Maduro for a new six-year term.
Protesters have marched in several cities and shouted anti-government slogans.
– It crashes. It crashes. This government will fall, protesters chanted in the country’s capital, Caracas.
According to news agencies, the country’s security forces have used, among other things, tear gas against demonstrators in the country’s capital.
The protesters tried to build roadblocks in the area of the capital, for example on the road connecting Caracas and the international airport.
Meanwhile, in the city of Coro, protesters overthrew the late president Hugo Chávez statue.
The election result inflamed the relationship between the two countries
The opposition and key regional neighbors have not accepted the declared election result. Among other things, Peru said it would call its ambassador back to its home country, and Panama said it would freeze cooperation between the countries.
President of Panama José Raúl Mulino also predicts that the number of Venezuelan immigrants in the country will increase even more.
As a protest against the actions of other countries, Venezuela has announced that it will withdraw its diplomats from seven Latin American countries.
In addition to neighboring countries, the United States, the EU and the UN have expressed their concerns about the ambiguities related to the elections.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there were “significant concerns” about the election result. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and the Secretary General of the UN António Guterres have in turn called for transparency.
The news is updated.
Sources: AFP, AP, Reuters