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Shops were closed and buses stopped running across much of Venezuela on Wednesday, keeping many people at home as tensions rose over a disputed presidential election and rumors of opposition arrests.
Socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who has ruled since 2013, was declared the winner of the weekend election by the electoral commission. But the opposition said its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, had more than twice as much support as Maduro, with about 90 percent of the vote counted.
The Carter Center, which monitored the vote, said in a statement late Tuesday that the election “cannot be considered a democratic election.” The center said the election process was flawed from beginning to end and called the failure of election authorities to release itemized results a “serious violation.”
Maduro filed a writ with Venezuela’s Supreme Court on Wednesday to “initiation of electoral dispute.”
“The United Socialist Party of Venezuela is ready to announce the results of the elections in our hands 100 percent,” he said.
The United States, Brazil, Chile and other countries have urged electoral bodies to release detailed results, which the opposition accuses of being rigged by Maduro.
“Our patience and that of the international community has run out. The time has run out for Venezuela’s electoral authorities to come clean and release the full, detailed data from this election,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.
The dispute has sparked mass protests that Maduro and his government have denounced as a coup attempt. González said 11 protesters had died.
Maduro said Gonzalez and Machado should be held accountable for crimes allegedly committed by protesters.
Jorge Rodriguez, the congressional president of Maduro’s ruling Socialist party, insisted on Tuesday that the two opposition figures should be arrested.
“The ringleaders (of the protesters) should go to jail,” he told lawmakers.
The government said two members of the security forces also died and invited people to report crimes related to what it called “fascist activities” through an app.
Opposition fears grew on Wednesday that police would arrest González and Machado, who were last seen in public on Tuesday in Caracas.
“I am warning the whole world that the regime is resorting to brutal repressive measures,” Machado said on TV X on Wednesday.
Attorney General Tarek Saab said 162 people had been arrested and 77 public officials injured in the protests.
Last week, he Denied Venezuela prosecutes people for their political beliefs.
Opposition members seeking refuge at the Argentine ambassador’s residence in Caracas said on social media that police cars were parked outside the residence and that the power to the building had been cut.
The six staff members have been living at the embassy since warrants were issued for their arrest in March as part of a series of warrants targeting the opposition ahead of election day.
Brazil has urged Maduro to respect the border at the Argentine Embassy in Caracas, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Voluntad Popular said its national coordinator, Freddy Superlano, was detained on Tuesday. Saab has not yet responded to a request for comment on Superlano’s detention.
Machado’s Venezuela Export Party said a senior party official, Ricardo Esteves, was also arrested.
There are no buses and the shops are closed.
In the capital, Caracas, many shops were open but queues were long, some goods were running low on stock and there was an increased military presence around the presidential palace, according to Reuters witnesses.
Vegetables and other perishable goods are particularly scarce and may take longer, even days, to reach stores, retail industry sources said.
Public transport ridership declined in other Venezuelan towns and cities, and many shops either remained closed or planned to close early.
They said bus drivers in Maracay were not reporting for work because they were afraid to go on the roads, while the bus terminal in San Cristobal was open but no buses were dispatched. The bus terminal in Barquisimeto was closed.
“I come here by bike because there is no public transport,” said Jose Marcano, 32, a supermarket worker in the central city of Valencia. “The supermarket has very few staff and although my job is administrative, I help at the cashier.”
State oil company PDVSA said in a statement that gas stations across the country would be open, but queues were long in many locations.
“I’m anxious,” said America Guerrero, 85, as she tried to get from downtown Maracay to her home in Tejerias, near Caracas. Tickets cost up to $20. “They don’t want people to leave. People are tired.”
Reuters has witnessed clashes between security forces and opposition protesters in several cities since Sunday, as well as attacks on protesters by motorcyclists allied to the ruling party, known as collectives.
Meanwhile, Maduro supporters said at a march on Tuesday that the election results were a foregone conclusion.
Waves of anti-government protests in 2014, 2017 and 2019 left hundreds of people dead and failed to oust Maduro.
Two opposition sources who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the opposition was working to pressure the government to release all voting results.
Machado on Wednesday thanked election witnesses and those who uploaded their ballots to opposition websites, saying: “Victory is yours!”
Other paths for the opposition to power could include a negotiated settlement or hoping that the protests increase foreign pressure on the government.
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