Maduro's contested victory sparks deadly protests in Venezuela

After Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the presidential elections in Venezuela, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Caracas, the country's capital; military and police units brutally suppressed the protests. Tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets have been used. These are the first fatalities. Shocking recordings have circulated on the internet.

On Monday, Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the presidential elections in Venezuela. According to the National Electoral Council, he secured 51% of the votes, 7% more than the opposition candidate, Edmundo González, despite pre-election polls indicating González's victory.

After the election results were announced, the country plunged into chaos. On Monday, thousands of demonstrators questioning the election results took to the streets of Caracas and demanded the government's resignation. Opponents of the president made their way to the government district, chanting, among other slogans, "freedom, freedom." The same chants were heard in the poorest district of Caracas.

The streets in the city center were blocked, fires were breaking out, and monuments were being torn down. Protesters are tearing down and burning Maduro's election posters.

As journalist Tomasz Surdel reports on platform X, in Calabozo (Guárico), a statue of Hugo Chávez was toppled. In Guacara (Carabobo), protesters set fire to a large portrait of Nicolas Maduro.

Soldiers and police officers have appeared on the streets of Caracas, aiming to prevent protesters from approaching the presidential palace. The forces are dealing brutally with the demonstrators. As reported by the BBC, tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets have been used.

There are the first fatalities in the riots. Recordings showing dead Venezuelans have circulated online (we do not publish them due to their graphic nature).

Nicolas Maduro said before the elections that if the opposition won, it would end in bloodshed. And, as it turns out, he kept his word. Another fatality of the pro-government "colectivos"—it happened yesterday in Maracay—wrote Tomasz Surdel on X.

The BBC spoke with the demonstrators. They stressed that the voting was "a terrible fraud" and that González actually won the election by securing over 70% of the votes.

"We want a better future for the youth because if not they will leave the country. One where they can work well and earn well. We have a rich country and he is destroying everything. If the youth all leave, only old people will be left in Venezuela, only senior citizens" said the demonstrators, quoted by the BBC.

They emphasized that many young people, eager for change, participated in the elections.

It was the first time I have voted in my life. I was there from six in the morning until approximately nine in the morning and I saw a lot of people mobilising in the street, said a young man in an interview with the station.

So far, 32 people have been detained for "destroying election materials and inciting acts of violence."