Venezuelan opposition supporters demonstrate in Caracas

CaracasSupporters of the Venezuelan opposition gathered in a demonstration in central Caracas on Tuesday to protest against the results of the presidential election.

Around two thousand people, including some 200 motorcyclists, gathered on the main Francisco de Miranda avenue, several kilometres from the historic city centre and the presidential palace. More people are still arriving.

The demonstration is taking place peacefully, with people singing the Venezuelan national anthem and waving flags. Traffic on the avenue is virtually blocked.

A march and rally in support of Venezuela’s re-elected president, Nicolás Maduro, are also planned for Tuesday.

Since Monday, street protests have been taking place in various parts of Venezuela in protest against the results of Sunday’s elections, in which President Nicolás Maduro was re-elected.

The government described the incidents as “terrorist acts” and sabotage promoted by the “extreme right.”

In Sunday’s election, Maduro, for the Gran Polo Patriótico coalition (left), obtained 51.2 percent of the votes, against 44.2 percent obtained by Edmundo González, of the opposition Plataforma Unitaria Democrática (PUD, center), according to a report by the National Electoral Council.

The PUD rejected the results and announced González as “president-elect.”

Some countries, such as Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay, have refused to recognise Maduro’s re-election, prompting Caracas to announce the immediate withdrawal of its diplomatic personnel.

Other nations, including Brazil and Spain, avoided forceful statements but insisted on verifying the election results “table by table.”

White House calls repression of protesters “unacceptable”

The crackdown on protesters and the opposition in Venezuela is “unacceptable,” the White House said Tuesday following protests in which four people died and dozens were injured in Venezuela following the disputed re-election of Nicolás Maduro.

“Any political repression or violence against protesters or opponents is obviously unacceptable,” US presidential press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters when asked about protests that broke out in Venezuela against the official results of Sunday’s election.