Venezuela - August 2024

At least 24 people have been killed, many injured and thousands arrested in the context of protests against the unsubstantiated claims that Nicolas Maduro was reelected in the 28 July election. Some of those detained have been charged with crimes of terrorism and inciting hatred. Opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was forced to flee Venezuela in early September after an arrest warrant was issued against him. Other prominent opposition politicians have also been arrested. In this context, the government suspended the operation of social media platform X for ten days. Reprisals against members of the press and dissidents have been such, that groups of journalists have opted to disseminate the news through AI-created avatars.
Vote tallies collected by opposition observers appear to support the Unitary Front’s assertion of an opposition victory. However, the regime-friendly Supreme Court has sided with Maduro and confirmed his re-election claims.

Sources: DW, Infobae, El Universo, The Guardian,