A senior US general accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of undermining the democratic will of the country’s people following July’s presidential election, saying it was an example of how democracy is under attack around the world.
“Democracy and its core values continue to be under attack globally, and we need look no further than Venezuela, where Nicolás Maduro continues to undermine the democratic will of the Venezuelan people,” said Gen. Laura Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 election but has not published detailed vote counts. The opposition has published its own counts showing its candidate won.
Some Western countries and international bodies, including a UN panel of experts, have called on Venezuela to release the full counts.
The US government cited “overwhelming evidence” that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received the majority of votes.
Speaking in the Chilean capital Santiago at a meeting of military leaders from across Latin America, Richardson directly blamed Maduro for causing millions of Venezuelans to flee.
She also spoke about global threats to democratic values, including disinformation campaigns to “undermine the fabric of democratic societies.”
Allende’s granddaughter was at the meeting
Also at the Santiago conference was Chilean Defense Minister Maya Fernandez, granddaughter of former socialist president Salvador Allende, who was ousted in a military coup in the 1970s by General Augusto Pinochet.
This coup marked the beginning of a series of US-friendly dictatorships that ruled much of South America until the 1980s and were characterized by mass arrests, torture and disappearances.
Fernandez did not mention Venezuela explicitly, but spoke of the need for “respect for the self-determination and sovereignty of each country.”
Meanwhile, the Chilean government has taken a strong line on Venezuela, with President Gabriel Boric earlier this month labeling Maduro’s government “a dictatorship that falsifies elections.”
U.S. Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also addressed the forum, stressing the need to work to preserve democracy in the region.
“This is a group committed to defending an international system that respects democracy and national sovereignty,” Brown said, without specifically naming Venezuela.
Venezuelan representatives did not attend the event.
This content was originally published in US general says Maduro “undermines the democratic will of the Venezuelan people” on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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