Protests against President Nicolás Maduro continued on Wednesday, a month after the disputed presidential election of July 28.
Opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González initiated demonstrations under the slogan “Acta Mata Sentencia,” which translates to “Vote record kills sentence.” Protests against Maduro’s reelection were not only held throughout Venezuela but also in various cities worldwide, including Osaka, Amsterdam, Madrid, New York, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, and Santo Domingo. These protests shared the common assertion that the voting polls actually indicated the victory of Edmundo González as president of Venezuela, contrary to the official results announced by government organs.
These protests unfolded in a tense atmosphere. González has remained hidden since the elections, fearing arrest, as he has been summoned for the second time for questioning by Venezuela’s prosecutors. Furthermore, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a permanent commission of the Organization of American States (OAS), on Wednesday confirmed it had documented various acts of “state terrorism” in Venezuela since the elections. Roberta Clarke, president of the commission, confirmed cases of “arbitrary use of force and arbitrary detentions, persecutions and harassment, censorship and restrictions of freedom of expression, association, and assembly, posing obstacles to the protection of human rights.”
Opposition leader María Corina Machado stated during one of the protests that the actions of the Venezuelan government constituted “the most brutal repressive campaigns in the history of Venezuela.” She also highlighted the “more than 150 children imprisoned by the government,” a point of concern that has also been underscored by the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, which recently urged Venezuela to end its acts of repression and comply with international child protection obligations.
Despite these challenges, protests have continued against the results of the elections, with calls for “freedom” filling the streets over the past few days.
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