Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro claimed on Wednesday that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado were allegedly behind “terrorist attempts to create chaos” during Sunday’s fraudulent elections.
The Maduro regime held a sham election on Sunday to choose governors for the country’s 23 states and members of the National Assembly. Additionally, Sunday saw the election of the “governor” of “Guayana Esequiba,” a purported new 24th state that the socialist regime intends to carve out of the Essequibo region, a historically contested territory encompassing two-thirds of neighboring Guyana.
The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) “won” 23 of the 24 governor seats and 253 of the 258 parliamentary seats, with the rest being occupied by “opposition” politicians. Despite the extensive footage showing extremely low voter turnout and completely empty electoral centers, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) claimed that voter turnout was measured at 42.6 percent. In contrast, the Venezuelan opposition and independent polling firms estimated voter turnout at approximately 12 to 13 percent.
Throughout the days leading up to the fraudulent electoral event, the Maduro regime detained over 70 individuals, including several foreign nationals, who stand accused of allegedly plotting to carry out “terrorist attacks” and sabotage the sham elections.
On Wednesday, Maduro claimed during a mandatory regime broadcast that President Bukele, through a “foundation,” was allegedly behind the alleged plots alongside Machado, who Maduro described as “the person who can have the most hatred in her soul.” The socialist dictator further claimed that other opposition figureheads were involved in the purported plot, including Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close Machado associate arrested on Friday.
According to Maduro, who did not present any evidence to substantiate his accusations against Bukele and Machado, “they wanted to fill Venezuela with violence and chaos so that there would be no elections, but there was peace.”
“The formula, a foundation of Bukele where he steals quite a lot, from that foundation to [opposition figurehead] Leopoldo López, from him to NGOs that supposedly defend human rights and from there to the phone direct to the account of Tequeño Crudo [“Raw Tequeño,” a nickname attributed to Guanipa].”
President Nayib Bukele has not publicly responded to Maduro’s accusations at press time.
Guanipa – who, like Machado, went into hiding in the aftermath of the fraudulent July 28, 2024, presidential election – stands accused by the socialist regime of allegedly leading a “network of terrorism and conspiracy” against Sunday’s sham election. Interior Minister and wanted drug lord Diosdado Cabello claimed at the time of Guanipa’s arrest that “notebooks and agendas” were allegedly found in Guanipa’s hiding place containing “groups, financing, and places designated for terrorist attacks.”
Maduro further claimed during the mandatory broadcast that the “evidence” presented by Cabello so far represents “only ten percent” of the “proof” of the purported terrorist plots. The schemes allegedly involved the kidnapping or elimination of regime and opposition political leaders that participated in the fraudulent election, as well as attacks on embassies, the local United Nations offices, and sabotage attempts on Venezuelan oil installations.
“María Corina Machado and imperialism wanted to fill the country with violence and chaos so that there would be no elections. Thank God the elections took place, there was peace and tranquility,” Maduro said. “These are not politicians, they are terrorists.”
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“We managed to neutralize 60 attacks against refineries and oil facilities,” he added. “Thanks to our intelligence strategy we managed to capture more than 70 involved with evidence.”
The socialist dictator further claimed that regime law enforcement officials captured “more than 70 conspirators with their bosses, their plans and the complete evidence, as well as the grenades and explosives,” stressing that “the search process is still in full development.”
Machado, who leads Venezuela’s only mainstream center-right party Vente Venezuela, has remained in hiding for months after facing threats from the ruling socialist regime. The politician made her first and so far only public appearance in early January, hours before Maduro was inaugurated for a third, illegitimately obtained presidential term. Machado was briefly detained on that day and released amid fierce international condemnation.
On Wednesday, Interior Minister Cabello did not rule out that Machado could be arrested at an later, unspecified time due to her alleged involvement in the dubious terrorist plots.
“Everything has its moment in this life, everything always arrives and arrives at the exact moment,” Cabello told reporters. “Let’s not despair, there are open inquiries and everything comes in its time. There are people who think they are untouchable. Everything has its moment and its instant.”
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here
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