Seoul Gazette - Diplomats exit Venezuela, opposition urges supporters to 'mobilize'

The oil-rich Latin American nation has plunged into political crisis since Maduro was announced the victor of Sunday's presidential election.

Sixteen people died in protests that erupted after the election, according to the opposition, which claims its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia is the rightful victor.

After days of anxiety that left streets largely deserted, normal life has begun to resume in Caracas, with shops opening and public transport operating.

The opposition has released a large set of voting data it says shows Gonzalez Urrutia defeating Maduro by a wide margin, as pre-election polls had suggested.

"It is up to ALL of us to assert the truth that we ALL know. Let's mobilize. WE WILL SUCCEED," opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running in the election, said Wednesday evening on X.

Maduro has asked the Supreme Court to rule on the elections, saying he has evidence of his victory and was "ready to present 100 percent of the records."

"You have blood on your hands," Maduro said Wednesday, referring to Gonzalez Urrutia and Machado. "They should be behind bars."

Venezuela has withdrawn diplomatic staff from eight critical Latin American countries and asked envoys from those nations to leave its territory.

- Argentine diplomats leave -

Argentine President Javier Milei said his country's diplomatic staff had left Venezuela on Thursday and thanked Brazil for taking custody of its embassy.

Six Venezuelan opposition figures are currently under protection at the Argentine embassy.

"There was a lot of harassment at the diplomatic headquarters," Pedro Urruchurtu, one of the refugees, told reporters.

In recent days, Argentina complained about a power cut to its embassy.

Brazil's foreign ministry announced it was also taking over representation of Peru in Venezuela.

Peru recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela's legitimate president on Tuesday, prompting Caracas to sever diplomatic ties.

Sunday's elections were held in the shadow of Maduro's warnings of a "bloodbath" if he were to lose, and amid widespread fear the vote would be rigged.

Numerous nations, including Brazil and the United States, as well as the European Union, have demanded Venezuelan authorities release detailed voting data, with the White House warning Wednesday that the international community's patience was running out.

Brian Nichols, the top US diplomat for Latin America, said the polling results released by the opposition provided "irrefutable evidence" that Maduro lost "by millions of votes."

However, an emergency meeting of the Organization of American States on Wednesday failed to adopt a resolution calling for the detailed results to be released "immediately," with Colombia and Brazil notably abstaining.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab said more than 1,000 people were arrested in protests that erupted on Monday and Tuesday in the wake of the election.

He also said one military officer was killed and 77 officials were injured.

- Not 'democratic' -

Maduro has led the oil-rich country since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela's 30 million citizens to emigrate.

He is accused of locking up critics and harassing opponents in a climate of rising authoritarianism.

Maduro's previous reelection, in 2018, was rejected as a sham by dozens of Latin American and other countries, including the United States and EU members.

S.Seo--SG