Venezuela Election Update | August 16, 2024
From the authentication of tally sheets to the double-speak and propaganda from myriad sides, the situation is shady af
It’s interesting to see the U.S. Department of State (State) backpedal from Secretary of State Antony Blinken declaring Edmundo González the winner of Venezuela's election. That State has since deferred to other countries to “find a resolution” after failing to answer questions about news articles cited by Spokesperson Matt Miller having disclaimers saying the authenticity of the actas (tally sheets) provided by the opposition couldn’t be validated, is a major shift.
Since State could no longer point to the articles from the Associated Press and the Washington Post as evidence, I asked on Aug. 5 if they would provide further details about evidence Sec. Blinken had to declare González the winner (unclear if anyone else asked this). Notably, the shift in State’s position began gradually within hours of posing this question.
In succeeding statements, State would mention González winning less and less and instead focus on demanding Venezuela’s Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE), or National Electoral Council, immediately make the precinct-level actas (tally sheets) public. This not-so-subtle shift has gone unnoticed by the general public due to a lack of reporting in the news.
State is also now relying on Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil instead of engaging Nicolás Maduro or the CNE directly to make its demands happen — an interesting turn of events. Making our heads spin even more, a recent report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) suggests U.S. intelligence has been reaching out to Maduro to offer him concessions to “give up power”. Trying to bribe him into stepping down instead of conceding the election would be another major shift.
Department of State Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel denied the WSJ report.
On Monday, State issued a press release attributable to Patel about a call Sec. Blinken had with Colombia’s Foreign Minister.
“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo today and thanked him for Colombia’s efforts to facilitate dialogue toward a return to democracy in Venezuela. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Murillo discussed the need for electoral authorities in Venezuela to publish transparent, polling station-level results for the July 28 presidential election, and for security forces to refrain from violating Venezuelans’ human rights and freedom of expression. The Secretary and Foreign Minister also discussed the importance of the region speaking with one voice, including at the Organization of American States, to further pressure Venezuela to return to a democratic path.”
The statement shows the backpedal by Sec. Blinken. The discussion with Colombia’s Foreign Minister about the Organization of American States (OAS) is undoubtedly because Colombia joined Mexico, Brazil, and several countries in abstaining from voting on taking action against Venezuela, blocking any such move by the group. The inability to validate the authenticity of the actas provided by the opposition appears to have a bigger impact than U.S. media is reporting.
On Tuesday, State held a press briefing and was asked if efforts working through Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil have progressed. Patel suggested it has not yet yielded any results.
“So I think first, one of the key things that the Secretary spoke about with the foreign minister was the topic of what we are currently seeing play out in Venezuela. And so two weeks after the elections in Venezuela, it has become abundantly clear, not just to the majority of Venezuelans but the United States and a growing number of other countries, that Edmundo González Urrutia received the most votes on July 28th, and Nicolás Maduro must accept it. More than 80 percent of the voting tally sheets published by civil society and the opposition and corroborated by independent observers, including the Carter Center, indicate that he received the most votes by an insurmountable margin.
“And so what we are focused on, the U.S. along with other international partners, including countries like Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, have called for transparency and called for the release of detailed vote tallies. And we urge Venezuelan parties to begin discussions to a peaceful transition back to democratic norms.”
When asked on Tuesday about another potential meeting of the OAS to vote on taking action against Venezuela, Patel said, “That is certainly – that is our hope and that is our goal, and that’s what we hope to use the OAS as a vehicle for.”
Despite Patel’s statement, if every assessment provided so far is based on the notion that the precinct-level actas the opposition provided are authentic, then the foundation of their results lies on shaky ground. That news media outlets could not independently verify authenticity brings many questions to the forefront. At the same time, the Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) has been analyzing the election results per Venezuela’s electoral process.
“The AP could not independently verify the authenticity of the 24,532 tally sheets provided by the opposition.”
Additionally, the Carter Center made no efforts to authenticate the actas despite being on the ground monitoring the election after President Nicolás Maduro invited them. Instead, they have since moved to attack the process despite never declaring to have seen any anomalies as Venezuelans cast their ballots. Now, they seem to be repeating the words coming from State.
“...the [Carter] Center’s mission will not conduct a comprehensive assessment of the voting, counting, and tabulation processes.”
In June, the Carter Center declared that “the Center’s mission will not conduct a comprehensive assessment of the voting, counting, and tabulation processes,” highlighting how it seemingly came to its decision using the same information State used. Again, these are declarations relying on the assumption that tally sheets provided by the opposition are authentic.
Even the United Nations’ statement issued on Wednesday is void of validating the authenticity of the actas. Their conclusion is solely based on a narrative that “Maduro’s assertion of electoral victory is unsubstantiated” while ignoring the time it takes for the electoral process to play out dictated by Venezuela’s Constitution. Because of this, it’s no wonder the UN position is being widely ignored.
It’s worth noting that each candidate and the CNE receive copies of the actas from the precinct level. Candidates verify results announced by the CNE through individual audits. It’s also worth noting that opposition candidates running against Maduro (there were several) were present at the SCJ to verify and validate the election results. The opposition did not respond to a summons to present theirs.
On Tuesday, State issued another press release attributable to Patel about Sec. Blinken’s call with the Mexican Foreign Secretary.
“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Mexican Foreign Secretary Bárcena today about the need for the Maduro regime to release untampered, detailed vote tallies from the July 28 presidential election in Venezuela, and to end human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests and indiscriminate detentions. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Secretary Bárcena discussed the need for electoral authorities in Venezuela to publish a full and transparent accounting of the results of the July 28 presidential election. Secretary Blinken expressed support for Mexico’s efforts to facilitate an inclusive, Venezuelan-led dialogue that respects the will of the Venezuelan people, leads to a return to democracy, and promotes respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
We have to be conscious of government officials using language demanding “security forces to refrain from violating Venezuelans’ human rights and freedom of expression” and talking about “arbitrary arrests” – a phrase popping up everywhere lately. Despite the abundance of video footage, it could very easily be video of people being arrested for crimes committed during the rioting on election night and the day after. Everything should be validated for accuracy but many times it isn’t.
Over 20 people were reportedly killed and nearly a dozen police were shot by supporters of the opposition. Rioters burned down many structures including hospitals, schools, and people’s homes. This means that not everyone arrested in Venezuela is an innocent political prisoner and the news pretending they are is akin to Jan. 6 rioters who attacked the Capitol proclaiming their innocence and saying they were tourists.
We should all be sharp enough to know better than that.
Meanwhile, Patel’s statement summarizing Sec. Blinkens call with the Mexcian Foreign Minister pushes back on Patel’s earlier assertion that “it has become abundantly clear” that Edmundo González won the election. His rhetoric and tone shifted to a more diplomatic one saying, “the need for electoral authorities in Venezuela to publish a full and transparent accounting of the results.” State’s doubts are showing and they are similar to the suspicions in the public sphere.
On Thursday, Patel indicated potential support for installing a coalition government in Venezuela repeating a previous move when the U.S. installed Juan Guaido in 2017 as president despite never having run in an election for president.
For those who follow Venezuela and report on the country, those doubts initially emerged when the opposition created a website and posted their results online seemingly attempting to subvert Venezuela’s electoral system. More red flags emerged when the opposition didn’t present their results to the SCJ after being summoned. Also raising suspicions is that they could have attempted to deliver them through lawyers if they didn’t feel safe, as they claim.
The opposition intentionally missed the opportunity to present their audit results at the SCJ as the world watched. With supposed “undeniable” evidence in their hands, they chose not to.
Meanwhile, the CNE’s website has been under a cyberattack further hampering it from delivering results in dubious timeframes set by outside figureheads. The attack is allegedly coordinated by anti-Maduro hackers masked as Anonymous on X (formerly Twitter). It’s an interesting dynamic to see people demand results while also attacking the institution they demand results from.
Interestingly, the hackers’ declarations made on social media only validated Maduro’s claim of a hack many had initially doubted, thus, delaying the process. CNE’s headquarters has also been firebombed and attacked on the ground now requiring 24-hour protection. Demanding election workers do things at speeds declared by outside forces under those conditions is asinine.
From the outside perspective, who won the election is still very much up in the air.
*Venezuela was not discussed during Wednesday’s press briefing.
Author’s Note
If you read my work you know I focus heavily on holding truth to power which means finding the truth in full context. You also know that I learned long ago that you can’t trust what “police say” and that includes government officials. Because if you grew up like many of us did, anyone from the government is a cop in the end.
I often start by scrutinizing government officials, reports, and statements whether it’s the U.S., Cuba, Venezuela, or any nation. If it’s policing, immigration, or foreign affairs, I never trust what government officials in the U.S. say. It’s as if “How good are you at spinning bullshit?” is a top 3 interview question for their job. Because of this approach, I catch a lot of flak from social media.
That doesn’t mean I believe what someone like Maduro says either. Are you kidding? It would be a huge disservice to not scrutinize him and leaders like him. The issue with Venezuela, for example, is that we have yet to see independent authentication of the tally sheets turned over by opposition leaders. Until then, I am withholding judgment and will continue to address the misinformation created when others point to news outlets withholding context and facts.
Let me be clear, there has to be validation for Maduro’s claims as well. But I’m not about to base anything on the false narrative that the vast majority of Venezuelans don’t support him because a very large portion of Venezuelan society does. We must also acknowledge that the opposition absolutely has the capabilities and the motivation to pull off a coup like this with falsified actas.
They have access to billions in Venezuelan cash and assets stolen from the country by the U.S. and access to U.S. military intelligence services. Who are we kidding? That they won’t turn their copies of the actas over to be assessed by the SCJ and refuse to participate in the process laid out by Venezuela’s Constitution is very suspect.
The narrative about Venezuela being portrayed in the news is biased and does not tell the full story. They paint the country as if it’s in chaos and it isn’t. Most Venezuelans are going about their daily lives and the people being arrested are not much different than protesters arrested here. Except, some in Venezuela are facing charges of murder, attempted murder, arson, and more.
Omitting this fact is a disservice to those who may have been arrested for repressive reasons because, at this point, U.S. news has everyone believing they’re all innocent despite seeing the riots on our screens all over the Internet. News media also won’t talk about the more than 20 people killed by the far-right opposition’s supporters on the first day after the election. Two of which were pro-Maduro political leaders in their communities.
They just add them all together and make it sound like “Maduro did it!”
Frankly, it’s lazy as fuck reporting that has me thinking that the opposition might not have won.
I’m a freelance writer and journalist for The Antagonist Magazine and Unicorn Riot. Find me on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work become a paid subscriber or donate on Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp
Shady af as you say. Despite the Biden proposal lead by Harris to engage in a new, positive vision with Latin America and the Caribbean to address the refugees that result from the kleptocrats the old policy installed at the whim of oligarchs and that is driving the right wing turn such as the orange menace’s main xenophobic appeal.