CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Thursday vowed to keep the pressure on President Nicolás Maduro to leave office in January.
She also urged the international community to rise to the occasion by immediately recognizing her faction’s presidential candidate as the winner of the election in July, and implement measures to hold government officials accountable for abuses unleashed after the vote.
Machado, speaking to reporters online from an undisclosed location in Venezuela, reaffirmed her commitment to negotiate incentives and guarantees that could lead to a peaceful transition of power.
“We, the Venezuelan people, have done everything,” she said. “We competed with the rules of tyranny ... and we won, and we proved it. So, if the world or some government is thinking of looking the other way, imagine where sovereign will and popular sovereignty end up in the Western world. It would mean that elections are worthless.”
Her comments came three days after the country’s justice system, which is loyal to the ruling party, issued an arrest warrant for former diplomat Edmundo González, who represented the main opposition coalition in the July 28 election.
While the National Electoral Council — stacked with ruling party supporters — declared Maduro the winner, it never released vote tallies backing their claim. However, the opposition coalition claimed that González defeated Maduro by a 2-to-1 margin and offered as proof vote tallies from more than 80% of the electronic voting machines used in the election.
Thousands of people, including minors, took to the streets across Venezuela hours after the electoral council's announcement. The protests were largely peaceful, but demonstrators also toppled statues of Maduro’s predecessor, the late leader Hugo Chávez, threw rocks at law enforcement officers and buildings, and burned police motorcycles and government propaganda.
Maduro's government responded to the demonstrations with full force. A Wednesday report from Human Rights Watch implicated state security forces and gangs aligned with the ruling party in some of the 24 deaths that occurred during the protests.
“They have no limits in their cruelty,” Machado told reporters Thursday.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday condemned the “unjustified arrest warrant” of González, characterizing it as “another example of Mr. Maduro’s efforts to maintain power by force.” Kirby said the U.S. is considering a range of options to show Maduro and his allies that “their actions in Venezuela will have consequences.”
Under the Biden administration, Venezuela’s government has been granted various forms of economic relief from economic sanctions the U.S. imposed over the years to try to topple Maduro. Earlier this year, it ended some of the relief when the government increased repression efforts against members of the opposition, civil society and others it considers as adversaries.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab, a staunch Maduro ally, on Thursday insisted his office had sought the warrant because González, 75, failed to appear three times to answer questions in a criminal investigation focused on the publication online of the tally sheets obtained by the opposition. Saab told reporters that the publication constitutes an usurpation of powers exclusive of the National Electoral Council and claimed that the opposition's vote records are false.
“You shared the website on your (social media) networks,” Saab said, referring to González. “Explain why you shared it if it is false.”
Saab's claim contradicts experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center, which at the invitation of Maduro's government observed the election and then determined the results announced by electoral authorities lacked credibility. In a statement critical of the election, the U.N. experts stopped short of validating the opposition's claim to victory, but they said the faction's voting records published online appear to exhibit all of the original security features.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado displays vote tally sheets during a protest against the reelection of President Nicolás Maduro one month after the disputed presidential vote which she says the opposition won by a landslide, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
NEW YORK (AP) — An apparent attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump as he played golf in Florida has rocked a presidential campaign already marred by violence and raised questions about how such a thing could have happened for the second time in as many months.
U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire Sunday afternoon on a man who was spotted pointing an AK-style rifle through a fence while hiding in the bushes as Trump golfed at his club in West Palm Beach. The FBI described it as an apparent attempted assassination on the GOP nominee.
At a Pennsylvania rally in July, Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet when a gunman was able to gain access to an unsecured roof, unleashing a hail of bullets that left one of Trump's supporters dead and two others badly injured.
While the Secret Service has grappled with how to keep Trump safe as he campaigns across the country, holding rallies that often draw thousands, less attention has focused on his protection when he is off the trail, often at his own clubs and properties.
The fact that there are places along the perimeter of the property where golfers — including Trump — are visible to those standing behind the fence has long been known to law enforcement. While Trump was president, news photographers were often able to capture images of him on the greens by finding gaps in the shrubbery.
While Trump’s plans to golf Sunday were not part of any public schedule, on days he is not campaigning, he can often be found golfing at one of his courses. Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach, about a 10-minute drive from his Mar-a-Lago residence, is a favorite. One of three golf clubs he owns in Florida, it boasts 27 holes of championship golf, as well as event spaces. Trump often eats lunch and holds meetings in the clubhouse between rounds.
Trump had just returned from a West Coast swing that included stops in Las Vegas and Utah, and had announced on social media that he would be delivering remarks Monday from Mar-a-Lago about cryptocurrency as he launches a new crypto platform.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw noted at a briefing that because Trump is no longer in office, security protocols around the course had loosened.
“He's not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he's not, his security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible," he told reporters.
Law enforcement officials praised the work of the agents assigned to protect Trump. One agent, tasked with jumping one hole ahead of the former president to scope out potential threats, managed to spot the gunman's rifle barrel sticking out of the fence that surrounds the golf club and “immediately engaged that individual,” Bradshaw said.
In an email to campaign staff Sunday night, senior campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles credited the Secret Service for saving Trump, who has praised the agents in his own protective detail for their bravery as they rushed on stage to protect him in Butler, Pennsylvania.
"President Trump and everyone accompanying him are safe thanks to the great work of the United States Secret Service,” they wrote.
Unlike other past presidents and typical VIPs who live in private residences with tall fences or in gated communities, Trump has his official residence at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. The club is open to dues-paying members, who mingle with the former president at meals and at events and can invite their own guests to the property.
Many nights, Trump holds court on the club's patio, playing DJ with his iPad. While president, he once plotted a response to a North Korean missile launch from the candlelit terrace, the meeting captured and posted on social media by a club member.
The club is also a popular Palm Beach venue and hosts a constant stream of fundraisers, weddings and other events that sometimes see Trump drop by unannounced.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a social media post that the agency is working closely with the FBI, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement to investigate what happened.
Trump will be briefed in person Monday by acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe about the investigation, according to a person familiar with the plan who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The incident sparked immediate finger-pointing and calls for answers on Capitol Hill.
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the House Republican Conference chair and a close ally of the former president, said she was grateful Trump was safe. “However, we must ask ourselves how an assassin was allowed to get this close to President Trump again?” she asked in a statement.
The leaders of the bipartisan task force that has been investigating the security failures in Pennsylvania said they were monitoring the situation and had requested a briefing from the Secret Service.
“We are thankful that the former President was not harmed, but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms,” said Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of Trump's rivals in the GOP primary, said his state will conduct its own investigation.
“The people deserve the truth about the would be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee,” he wrote in a social media post.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna echoed that message. “Two assassination attempts in 60 days on a former President & the Republican nominee is unacceptable," he wrote. "The Secret Service must come to Congress tomorrow, tell us what resources are needed to expand the protective perimeter, & lets allocate it in a bipartisan vote the same day.”
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was “relieved” that Trump was unharmed and said “there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country.” He said he had directed his staff “to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.”
Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.
Photos that show an AK-47 rifle, a backpack and a Go-Pro camera on a fence outside Trump International Golf Club taken after an apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, are displayed during a news conference at the Palm Beach County Main Library, Sunday. Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Stephany Matat)
This photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows Sheriff's vehicles surrounding an SUV on the northbound I-95 in Martin County on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP)
The main entrance of Trump International Golf Club is seen after police closed off the area following the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the World Market Center, Friday, Sept.13, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
