Thousands of Venezuelans gathered Tuesday in a peaceful show of opposition support a day after 11 people died and dozens were injured in protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s questioned presidential victory.
Security forces had fired tear gas and rubber bullets Monday at protesters who claimed the election was stolen, flooding the streets with chants of “Freedom, freedom!” and “This government is going to fall!”
Alfredo Romero of the Foro Penal human rights NGO told reporters Tuesday the toll from those clashes had risen to two minors and nine adults. Five of the deaths were in the capital Caracas.
At least 177 people have been arrested, he said.
Romero expressed concern about “the use of firearms,” adding: “we are in a crisis of human rights.”
The opposition rejects the authorities’ assertion that Maduro won Sunday’s presidential contest with 51 percent of votes compared to 44 percent for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
The CNE electoral council, loyal to the regime, has not provided a detailed breakdown, but the opposition says it has the voting records to “prove” its “mathematically irreversible” lead.
Maduro, 61, has been at the helm of the once-wealthy petro-state since 2013, presiding over a GDP drop of 80 percent that pushed more than seven million of Venezuela’s 30 million citizens to emigrate.
He is accused of locking up critics and harassing the opposition in a climate of rising authoritarianism.
– ‘Terrorism’ –
Independent polls had predicted Gonzalez Urrutia, 74, would win by a wide margin.
After Maduro was declared the winner, protesters streamed into the streets of several cities Monday, some ripping down and burning his campaign posters in anger.
At least two statues of Hugo Chavez — the late authoritarian socialist who led Venezuela for over a decade and handpicked Maduro as his successor — were toppled.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab said Tuesday that 749 “criminals” had been arrested at protests and faced charge of resisting authority or, “in the most serious cases, terrorism.”
Worried loved ones gathered in Caracas outside barracks of the National Guard, a military body with public order duties.
“My daughter is a minor, she’s 16 years old. She was with a cousin… they left yesterday at 11:00 am or noon to walk and they were grabbed. They were not protesting,” a woman told AFP, requesting her name be withheld.
Monday’s protests left 44 people injured, most of them shot, according to the National Hospital Survey which monitors crises in the country’s health centers.
The military reported 23 injuries and one death among its ranks.
On Tuesday, opposition supporters gathered for peaceful rallies in several cities.
Thousands attended a gathering in Caracas with Gonzalez Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado — the popular opposition leader blocked from the ballot by Maduro-aligned courts.
Waving Venezuelan flags, they chanted: “Maduro dictator!” and “Edmundo president!”
“We have to stay in the streets, we cannot allow them to steal our vote so brazenly,” said Carley Patino, a 47-year-old administrator in the crowd.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Tuesday he was “extremely concerned about increasing tensions in Venezuela, with worrying reports of violence.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Venezuela’s security forces must guarantee that demonstrators can gather peacefully, and the White House said “any political repression or violence against protesters or of the opposition is obviously unacceptable.”
Long queues formed at stores and supermarkets in Caracas Tuesday as residents stocked up on food, toilet paper and soap in uncertain times.
Most other business were closed.
– ‘Exceptional manipulation’ –
Addressing the opposition crowd in Caracas, retired diplomat Gonzalez Urrutia addressed the security forces, saying: “there is no reason for so much persecution.”
But in a televised address from his office, Maduro said the opposition would be held responsible for “criminal violence… the wounded, the dead, the destruction” he said emanated from protests.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, meanwhile, said Maduro had the “absolute loyalty and unconditional support” of the armed forces, as he vowed to “preserve internal order.”
Venezuela’s elections were held amid widespread fears of fraud and a campaign tainted by accusations of political intimidation.
The Organization of American States charged there had been “exceptional manipulation” of the results.
The United Nations, United States, European Union and several Latin American countries raised questions about the count and called for a “transparent” reckoning.
As international pressure rose, Caracas withdrew diplomatic staff from seven critical Latin American countries, and asked envoys from those nations to leave its territory.
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