Two Venezuelan Army captains urged the military on Tuesday to stand up to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro after the president was announced as the winner of Sunday’s election despite evidence allegedly pointing to a change in power.
According to Fox News, Edmundo Gonzalez, Venezuela’s opposition candidate, and Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado claimed that they had obtained tally sheets that indicated Gonzalez won double the votes of Maduro in enough districts to win the election. Fox News reported that the National Electoral Council announced Maduro as the winner of Sunday’s election despite leaked polling reportedly showing more support for Gonzalez than for Maduro and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
According to Fox News, Maduro has faced claims since 2013 that he and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela have ruled the country as a dictatorship, ultimately leading to a boycott by opposition parties in 2018 and a coordinated effort to unite behind Gonzalez in Sunday’s election.
ABC News reported that Monday’s controversial announcement resulted in thousands of opposition supporters gathering Tuesday in protest against the current Venezuelan government.
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“The regime has not only defrauded the election results but has also begun persecuting the courageous leaders who ignited the flame of freedom,” Isaias Medina III, a former Venezuelan diplomat on the United Nations Security Council, told Fox News. “In a remarkable display of unity and defiance, spontaneous marches flood the streets, as citizens fervently plead for liberty and the chance to rebuild a nation where families can reunite in prosperity.”
On Tuesday, Venezuelan Army Captain Javier and Juan Carlos Nieto Quintero urged “the entire body of generals and admirals, officers, NCOs, and troops of the national armed forces” to “make the right decision in this historic moment” as the country prepares to “enter a spiral of violence and anarchy.”
The two Venezuela Army captains warned that citizens were already being “repressed” by the government and that young people were “dying.” They added, “Remember, officers, that the weapons of the republic are made to defend and not to repress our people.”
Javier and Juan Carlos Nieto Quintero explained that the “will of the sovereign people was manifested” in Sunday’s election and that the evidence pointed to the defeat of the current president. The two captains said, “It’s evident we have a new president-elect.”
After urging the military to support the will of the Venezuelan people, the captains said it was “urgent and necessary that we, the military, are the ones called to settle the conflict.” They added, “It is necessary to take unconventional constitutional measures and go to a temporary transition board with a civic military government board headed by the civilian leader chosen by the sovereign people.”
