Riots in Venezuela have left at least 11 dead — MercoPress

Riots in Venezuela leave at least 11 dead

Maduro holds González Urrutia responsible for violence

At least 11 people have been killed in riots across Venezuela in protest against the presidential election results announced on Sunday, according to reports from Caracas on Tuesday. Incumbent President Nicolas Maduro is said to have won another six-year term (2025-2031). 749 people have been arrested so far and 48 law enforcement officers have been injured. The NGO Foro Penal puts the toll at 29.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) said the National Electoral Council (CNE) headquarters, the stadium, the city hall and buildings of the ruling party PSUV were damaged. Chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab claimed: “In Venezuela, there are no protests. There are armed groups, made up of paranoid people, heavily armed, carrying out attacks and causing chaos, escalating (violence) to the national level in order to allow for foreign intervention.”

Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, was listed by Maduro as one of the enemies behind Venezuelan tycoon Elon Musk. Turk said he was concerned about the detentions that took place in at least 17 of Venezuela’s 24 states during demonstrations. “Hundreds of people have been imprisoned, including children. This deeply disturbs me. I am shocked by reports of excessive use of force by law enforcement officers and violence by armed pro-government elements, known as collectives. Several demonstrators have been shot, one of whom was confirmed dead on July 29,” he stressed.

Saab showed the media videos of police raids across the country. “We are classifying several detainees for crimes ranging from public incitement, obstruction of public roads, incitement to attack (which is severely punished in the country), resistance to the authorities, and the worst, terrorism. Obviously, all have been sentenced to prison,” he said. He also linked this week’s unrest to what the opposition called “guarimbas” in 2014 and 2017, which left dozens dead.

Foro Penal and other NGOs said five people were “killed” in Caracas, two in Zulia, two in Yaraqui, one in Aragua and one in Táchira, two of them aged 15 and 16. The detentions continued into Tuesday after clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement officers following a massive rally in support of opposition candidate Edmundo Goonzález Urrutia and disenfranchised activist María Corina Machado, EFE reported.

While Maduro’s opponents insisted Tuesday’s demonstrations were a “spontaneous and legitimate expression” of discontent, the socialist regime accused them of being “criminals” and “terrorists” who were plotting a coup on behalf of “fascist elements of the far right.”

“Mr. González Urrutia, I hold you responsible for everything that is happening in Venezuela, directly responsible for the criminal violence, the deaths, the destruction,” Maduro said at a meeting of the Council of State. He also blamed Machado for the events and ordered the armed forces and police to “develop street patrol and protection plans” to take action against those who caused the destruction.