In a video published on social media this Tuesday (6), former Colombian president Iván Duque (2018-2022) accused the left-wing governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico of seeking to give “breathing space” to dictator Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
The three countries are demanding that the Chavista National Electoral Council (CNE) release the voting records from the presidential election held on the 28th, which the electoral body claims was won by Maduro.
The Venezuelan opposition has made copies of the voting records available online, proving that its candidate, Edmundo González, won the election.
Venezuela’s Chavismo-controlled Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) will review the official results of the CNE, which sent its voting records – which would indicate a victory for Maduro – to the court this week, but has not yet released them publicly, contrary to requests from the international community and other candidates in the Venezuelan presidential election.
In the video, Duque claimed that the minutes released by the opposition already prove his victory and that the review of the CNE result by the TSJ is just a maneuver for Maduro to remain in power.
“Now, what they want to do is for the Supreme Court of Justice to try to annul the election and open the way for Nicolás Maduro to call new elections with the support of the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, to give the dictator time and breathing room to gain four or five months, to intimidate, persecute and curtail rights and thus remain in power. We cannot allow this,” said Duque.
During his government, Colombia and Venezuela broke off relations, which were reestablished by his successor, Gustavo Petro.
In the video, Duque also asked “that the reward for Nicolás Maduro’s head be doubled, tripled or quadrupled, if necessary, by the United States Justice Department, which the International Criminal Court [TPI] speed up the processes and the judicialization of Nicolás Maduro with all the evidence of the systematization of the crimes he committed.”
In March 2020, the U.S. State Department offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Maduro, who was indicted in a New York federal court on charges of narcoterrorism, conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the United States, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
After a preliminary analysis, the ICC prosecutor’s office decided in November 2021 to open investigations against the Venezuelan government on charges of crimes against humanity and human rights violations.
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