(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Venzuelan President Nicolás Maduro reportedly arrested and jailed the opposition leader Tuesday following heavily disputed elections that led to a mass public uprising against the socialist despot a eerily similar to that in the United States under President Joe Biden.
Maduro claimed victory against opponent Edmundo González—at least according to a Sunday night statement from Venezuela’s National Electoral Council—after voting machines malfunctioned in favor of Venezuela’s established government in the heated election, Legal Insurrection reported.
According to the report, Maduro received 51% of the vote to win reelection to González’s 44%, despite González leading Maduro by 25% in exit polls.
BREAKING: VENEZUELA VOTERS WANT TO END SOCIALISM!
Edison Research Exit Polling Has President Nicolas Maduro Doen By 34 Points
Edmondo Gonzalez- 65%
Nicolas Maduro- 31%Maduro Has Called Out Police To Arrest Poll Workers Who Are Allowing Fair & Honest Votes! pic.twitter.com/mc03LcWqgS
— John Basham (@JohnBasham) July 28, 2024
Notably, the notoriously corrupt nation used Smartmatic-powered vote counting machines, among which are Dominion voting machines—the very same that led some to question the widespread irregularities and lack of security in America’s 2020 election.
The Smartmatic system has been used historically in Venezuela. In a prior election in the nation, the company admitted five years later that it officially tallied one million more votes than were officially cast.
Yesterday's election in Venezuela was just as safe and secure as the 2020 election was here in America. The voting machines used were made by Smartmatic and just because the company admitted that the number of votes counted versus cast differed by 1M in a prior election, there is… pic.twitter.com/lTGSpdzEiq
— @amuse (@amuse) July 29, 2024
As Smartmatic systems continue to show up in irregular elections, people have naturally begun to grow skeptical of the software.
Outrage on Tuesday led to protests across the nation.
Protests have intensified across Caracas on Monday, with crowds chanting “Fraud!” and burning tires across the main highway connecting a Caracas to La Guaira, blocking all traffic to the city’s international airport: https://t.co/U9LKXoNQEA pic.twitter.com/HR4GV03hYU
— Patricia Laya (@PattyLaya) July 29, 2024
“It’s going to fall. It’s going to fall. This government is going to fall!” some protesters shouted as they walked.
Protesters also tore down a statue of infamous dictator Hugo Chavez, who was Maduro’s predecessor.
Hugo Chávez's statue was just torn down in Venezuela. The people are rising up.pic.twitter.com/GvzyVUne9M
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 29, 2024
Meanwhile, in the U.S., even President Joe Biden—who won in 2020 perhaps largely to Smartmatic voting systems—was questioning the outcome of Venezuela’s recent election.
Joined by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Biden said on Tuesday that the Venezuelan government must publish the vote tallies of Sunday’s election.
“The two leaders agreed on the need for immediate release of full, transparent, and detailed voting data,” the White House said in a statement.
As Biden worried about the validity of foreign elections, news broke Sunday that Fulton County—which also relied on Dominion systems—had violated the State of Georgia’s election laws during the 2020 election by failing to verify signatures and double-scanning some ballots.
