“No Forgiveness”: Maduro Arrests 2,000 Venezuelan Protesters, Vows ‘Maximum Punishment’

Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Post-election demonstrations in Venezuela continue as pressure mounts against disputed President Nicolás Maduro, who has firmly stood his ground amid ongoing calls to release voting details from the July 28 general election. In the streets, clashes between Venezuelan security forces and protesters have resulted in at least 20 deaths, according to Human Rights Watch.

Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government protest in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas on July 29, 2024. (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)

On Aug. 3, Maduro announced that 2,000 civilian arrests have been made and denounced those who contest his administration.

“This time, there will be no forgiveness,” Maduro said during a Saturday rally of his supporters in Caracas. “We have 2,000 prisoners captured and from there, they will go to Tocorón and Tocuyito [prisons], maximum punishment, justice.”

During what Maduro supporters called a “grand national march for the defense of peace,” allies of the disputed head of state gathered outside the presidential palace of Miraflores while Maduro delivered a fiery address that condemned the opposition-led protests.

Maduro called for the arrest of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez for “electoral fraud,” and demanded a criminal sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison. Court authorities in Caracas reportedly issued an arrest warrant for Machado on July 31 for challenging the accuracy of the election results and encouraging protesters.

Regardless, demonstrators are standing their ground after a week of protests, saying they believe there is evidence showing Gonzalez won the July 28 general election.

Standing on a truck surrounded by other members of the nation’s largest anti-Chavez coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform, Machado appeared before a crowd of opposition supporters on Saturday to encourage Venezuelans to fight for election integrity in the country.

“After 6 days of brutal repression, they thought they were going to silence us, stop us, or intimidate us … look at the response,” Machado posted alongside a video of the opposition rally on the social media platform X.

“Today, the presence of each citizen on the streets of Venezuela demonstrates the magnitude of the civic strength we have and the determination to go to the end,” Machado said.

Presidential candidate Gonzalez also took to social media to show his support for the protesters and the calls for transparent election results.

“Today, united Venezuela came out, without fear, in peace and with family, to demand respect for its decision at the polls. We will ensure that your decision is respected and we will begin the re-institutionalization of Venezuela,” Gonzalez stated on his X account.

Venezuela’s post election demonstrations come at a time when “Chavismo” advocacy, named after former socialist President Hugo Chavez, has hit an all time low. In the months leading up to the presidential election, Maduro lost key support among voters that have historically been loyal to the country’s entrenched socialist party.

Much of this is due to the unprecedented economic crisis that has come to a head since Maduro became president in 2013. Venezuela’s GDP contracted by more than 75 percent between 2013 and 2021, according to the International Monetary Fund. It represents the single largest economic collapse for a nation not at war in nearly five decades.

This, in turn, has ignited an exodus of more than 7 million Venezuelans since 2014, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.

The United States is among the growing pool of international voices, which includes Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom, that are pressuring Maduro to release election vote details.

On Aug. 1, U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) introduced a resolution for the United States to recognize Gonzalez as the president-elect of Venezuela.

“The Venezuelan people’s desire for freedom and democracy is admirable. The recent electoral process, which narco-dictator Maduro fraudulently claims he won, has been a testament to the tenacity of the Venezuelan spirit,” Rubio stated in a press release.

The following day, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Gonzalez and Machado to congratulate the opposition candidate for “receiving the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election as documented by the democratic opposition’s extensive efforts to ensure a transparent accounting of the votes.”