Attack on re-election

Venezuela’s Maduro orders ten-day X ban

Maduro accuses X leader Musk of an "attack" on his re-election.

(Bild: AP)

Venezuela's controversial President Nicolás Maduro has announced a ten-day ban on the online service X in the South American country. The state regulatory authority Conatel will take the network formerly known as Twitter out of circulation, Maduro explained on Thursday.

Maduro gave as his reason that the social media was being used to incite violence following the country's presidential elections. It remains to be seen when the measure will come into force. Maduro had previously publicly clashed with X owner Elon Musk. He accused him of inciting hatred, civil war and death. Musk or X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok also targeted
On Monday, Maduro had already called for the WhatsApp messenger service to be uninstalled as it was being used "to threaten Venezuela". On Sunday, he also called for recommendations from experts on the regulation of social networks such as Instagram and TikTok. According to Maduro, these platforms were being used to stir up hatred during spontaneous protests against his government.

Controversial election victory
The electoral authority, which is largely loyal to the government, officially declared Maduro the winner of the presidential election at the end of July last week with around 51% of the vote, despite international criticism and accusations of fraud from the opposition. The opposition, however, is claiming victory.

In the days following the election, there were protests by Venezuelans throughout the country and abroad demanding the resignation of Maduro and recognition of the victory of opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. The protests were mainly spread via social media.

Deaths during protests
The authorities cracked down. According to the human rights organizations Provea and Human Rights Watch, 24 people lost their lives and hundreds were arrested.

The anti-government presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, together with opposition leader María Corina Machado, had called on the security forces in an open letter to side with the people and no longer follow the instructions of the incumbent government. The public prosecutor's office subsequently launched an investigation into the two.

Protests broke out in Venezuela following Maduro's re-election.

(Bild: AFP/Juan Carlos Hernandez)

The USA and a number of Latin American countries have already recognized the ex-diplomat as the winner of the election. The European Union, the Organization of American States and numerous other countries in the region at least expressed clear doubts about the official election results and demanded the publication of the detailed results lists.

The ball is in the court's court
The CNE recently submitted the detailed election results to the Supreme Court. In a joint statement, the left-wing governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, to whom Machado ascribes an important mediating role, demanded that the results of all polling stations be published by the CNE and not by the Supreme Court.