Venezuela’s Maduro Calls For State ‘Iron Fist’ After Deadly Protests

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has called for the state to use an “iron fist” after deadly protests in response to his July reelection which has been dismissed at home and abroad as a sham.

Addressing a Defence Council Meeting, the Socialist Leader said, “I demand from all the powers of state greater speed, greater efficiency and an iron fist against crime, against violence, against hate crimes.”

As the official protest death toll rose to 25, Maduro urged “severe justice” for violence he blames on the opposition, which insists its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia had won the July 28 vote by a landslide.

Widespread protests broke out after Maduro was declared president-elect by the CNE electoral council seen as loyal to his regime with Observers having reported a brutal security force crackdown with more than 2,000 arrests.

Maduro, in turn, blames Gonzalez Urrutia and popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was ruled out of running for the presidency by institutions aligned to the state.

Both leaders have gone into hiding, citing fears for their lives and threats of arrest.

The CNE declared Maduro the victor within hours of polls closing, giving him 52 percent of ballots cast even though it did not provide a detailed breakdown.

The opposition says its own tally of polling-station-level results showed Gonzalez Urrutia, a 74-year-old retired diplomat, had won more than two-thirds of votes.

But years of damaging sanctions failed to dislodge the president, who enjoys loyalty from the military leadership and state institutions, as well as Russia, China and Cuba.

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan said he was actively monitoring the situation after receiving multiple reports of instances of violence and other allegations.

The court has an open investigation into possible crimes against humanity committed by government forces during opposition protests in 2017 when more than 100 people were killed.

Venezuela’s regime-aligned parliament, meanwhile, has cancelled holidays for MPs to consider a swath of laws to regulate social media and NGOs.