Today is a key day for the future of Venezuela. Both Maduro and the opposition, led by María Corina Machado and her presidential candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, called on Venezuelans to demonstrate in response to Sunday’s controversial vote and the reaction of thousands of Venezuelans.

Opposition member María Corina Machado warned in X: “Now we are going to get paid, that is why we must remain firm, organized and mobilized, with the pride of having achieved a historic victory on July 28.” For its part, the Chavista regime ordered a broad deployment of the regime’s security forces against any protester throughout the country.

Maduro ordered the country’s capital to be “surrounded”: “I have given the order to protect the city of Caracas, I have given the precise orders for the Intelligence Forces and the police to protect Greater Caracas,” he announced on Friday evening. This announcement raises fears of a violent reaction from the regime’s security forces.

Faced with the refusal to publish the final minutes of the last elections, Maduro argued that he cannot show the electoral result because Elon Musk had hacked the system of the National Electoral Council (CNE), controlled by Chavismo, which proclaimed him the winner with 52% of the votes, while González Urrutia supposedly obtained 43%.

Última Hora: Maduro dice que no puede mostrar el resultado electoral porque @elonmusk hackeó el sistema ‼️Breaking News ️ Maduro says he can’t release final voting records because @elonmusk hacked the National Electoral Council of Venezuela pic.twitter.com/FlWlcwYV0c

— Gateway Hispanic (@GatewayHispanic) August 3, 2024

At the international level, countries such as Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay have recognized González Urrutia as the true president-elect, moderately joining the statements of the United States and Peru’s outright rejection of the official results.

The Argentine Foreign Ministry announced this morning that diplomatic personnel assigned to its embassy in Caracas had arrived at Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires. The delegation was received by Vice-Foreign Minister Leopoldo Sahores.

“This morning, diplomatic, military and administrative personnel working at the Argentine Embassy in Venezuela arrived at Ezeiza Airport and had to leave the country, along with their families, following the summons of the government of Nicolás Maduro on July 29,” said the statement released by the Argentine Foreign Ministry through the social network X, formerly Twitter.

Photo provided by the Argentine Foreign Ministry in Buenos Aires.

Let us remember that the government of Nicolás Maduro expelled Argentine diplomats from the country, as well as from other countries, but this case acquired special relevance due to the presence of several Venezuelan asylum seekers who have been in the embassy since March. Brazil assumed the management of diplomatic representation and the protection of the asylum seekers this Thursday.

For his part, Maduro publicly thanked his socialist allies for endorsing the result of the disputed elections.

Tyran Nicolás Maduro publicly thanked @lopezobrador_, @petrogustavo, and @LulaOficial for being his accomplices in election theft and for remaining silent about the bloodshed he has caused in Venezuela.

17 murders and over 1,000 kidnappings to thank for! pic.twitter.com/FCC5wnOxcB

— Gateway Hispanic (@GatewayHispanic) August 3, 2024

At the last minute, Venezuelan citizens continue to report abuses and deaths at the hands of Chavista forces; the latest victim was Carmen Rodríguez, kidnapped by the dictatorship and who died today after being taken from El Esfuerzo in Petare.

#RIP another victim of Maduro. Mrs. Rodriguez was kidnapped by Maduro’s regime after being reported by a chavista from the communal council. She died today; she was hypertensive and was taken from her home in El Esfuerzo, Petare, Caracas. The murderous regime wants to hide it. pic.twitter.com/gXIykxGpY9

— Gateway Hispanic (@GatewayHispanic) August 3, 2024