Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday called on the state to use an “iron fist” following deadly protests in response to his re-election in July, which have been dismissed as a sham both domestically and internationally.
As the official death toll from the protests rose to 25, Maduro called for “harsh justice” for the violence he attributes to the opposition, which insists that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, won the July 28th election.
“I am asking all state institutions for greater speed, greater efficiency, and an ‘iron fist’ against crime, against violence, against hate crimes,” the socialist leader said during a session of the Defense Council.
Massive protests erupted after Maduro was declared the elected president by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which is seen as loyal to his regime.
Observers reported a brutal crackdown by security forces on demonstrators, resulting in over 2.000 arrests.
Maduro, however, blames Gonzalez Urrutia and popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running for president by state-linked institutions.
“Where are the intellectual authors of this violence, where are the financiers of this violence, where are those who planned it? Where is Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia? Why did he flee? Why doesn’t he show his face?” Maduro questioned on Monday.
Both Urrutia and Machado are in hiding, with their whereabouts unknown, citing fears for their lives and threats of arrest.
