In the face of one of Latin America鈥檚 most brazen cases of electoral fraud, Venezuelans and the international community are grappling with how to address the ongoing crisis in this South American nation.
In the July 28 presidential election, despite exit polls showing a large victory for opposition candidate Edmundo 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄, Venezuela鈥檚 National Electoral Council declared the winner, 51-44% 鈥� even though they have yet to produce to prove he won.
The government has since, however, arrested hundreds of opposition supporters in the days after the disputed poll, and the president and his cadres have threatened to lock up opposition leader, Mar铆a Corina Machado and 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄, her hand-picked presidential candidate.
Machado, who has been barred by Maduro's government from running for office for 15 years, had been in hiding since Tuesday, saying her life and freedom are at risk. ransacked the opposition鈥檚 headquarters on Friday, taking documents and vandalizing the space. 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄 remains in hiding.
Two experts on Venezuela appeared Friday on SA国际传谋鈥檚 South Florida Roundup with Tim Padgett to discuss the contested election, the international community鈥檚 response and what lies ahead for Venezuela.
Eduardo Gamarra, a longtime expert on Latin America and political science professor at Florida International University, characterized Maduro鈥檚 election theft 鈥渁s the most egregious鈥� in at least six decades, citing the regime鈥檚 blatant disregard for democratic norms and the role of modern technology in exposing their deceit.
鈥淚t is just brazen,鈥� Gamarra told SA国际传谋. 鈥淚n past elections, the results were much closer and, therefore, they were able to kind of hide their fraud, but this time, they just simply couldn't and that's why they have to go through extreme lengths now, probably to make up the results.鈥�
READ MORE: Maduro's defiled Maisanta. He's Venezuela's new despicable dictator
Maria Alejandra M谩rquez, who leads the Venezuelan Asset Recovery Initiative, said the opposition, along with the Venezuelan diaspora and activists, risked their lives to document the fraud 鈥� and now face a Maduro regime determined to dash off democracy to stay in power.
鈥淚t is unclear what's going to happen because the repression is so hard on people,鈥� said M谩rquez. 鈥淭here are direct threats against journalists, direct threats against citizens who had participated in the voting.鈥�
鈥淎 lot of people would say that Venezuelans are innocent in having pursued this election, knowing that Maduro was going to commit fraud,鈥� added M谩rquez. 鈥淏ut I think against tyranny you have to keep trying, and having the backing of the international community is certainly an incentive for Venezuelans to keep fighting.鈥�
The Biden administration has thrown its support firmly behind the opposition. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement Thursday citing "overwhelming evidence that was the victor and discrediting the National Electoral Council鈥檚 official results. 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄 posted a message on X thanking the U.S. 鈥渇or recognizing the will of the Venezuelan people.鈥�
Maduro said Friday that the U.S. should stay out of Venezuela鈥檚 politics.
There has been a flurry of diplomatic efforts by Brazil, Colombia and Mexico 鈥� albeit a cautious stance 鈥� to convince Maduro to allow an impartial audit of the vote. The three countries abstained from a vote at the Organization of American States to demand Maduro hand over the vote tally sheets.
On Thursday, the governments of the three countries issued a joint statement calling on Venezuela鈥檚 electoral authorities 鈥渢o move forward expeditiously and publicly release鈥� detailed voting.
Gamarra told SA国际传谋 that all three countries may be motivated by their own geopolitical and migration concerns. 鈥淏razil and Colombia have some other motives to want to be mediators,鈥� noting both countries will likely see a new wave of migrants crossing the border.
M谩rquez highlighted the dire humanitarian impact of Maduro鈥檚 regime, noting that Venezuela鈥檚 economic collapse and rampant corruption have led to extreme poverty and scarcity of basic necessities. The situation has prompted millions of Venezuelans to flee, adding to the strain on neighboring countries and the U.S.
Nearly 8 million since 2014, in Latin America鈥檚 recent history.
鈥淵ou have to imagine trying to live with a basic income of $4 a day,鈥� said M谩rquez. 鈥淎nd in Venezuela, there is even inflation in dollars, which was something that was never seen in the past 鈥� so it's a really hard life, unless you're definitely connected with some sort of business related to the government.鈥�
READ MORE: 'They won't get away with it.' Venezuelans in South Florida alert U.S. to 'huge' vote fraud
Indeed, Venezuela sits atop the and once boasted Latin America鈥檚 most advanced economy, but it entered into a free fall marked by 130,000% hyperinflation and widespread shortages after Maduro took the helm in 2013. U.S. oil sanctions have only deepened the misery, and the Biden administration 鈥� which had been easing those restrictions 鈥� is now likely to ramp them up again unless Maduro agrees to .
As the international community debates how to respond, the prospect of mass civilian uprisings and increased repression remains a looming threat. M谩rquez noted that Venezuelans are prepared to continue their fight for democratic change, but the outcome is uncertain given the regime鈥檚 current tactics to squash the opposition.
Gamarra and M谩rquez agreed that diplomatic pressure is essential to helping a peaceful transition of power, but say the situation isn鈥檛 likely to improve anytime soon.
Said Gamarra: 鈥淭he fact that the [election] fraud scheme did not work requires them to find other justifications. [The Maduro regime] is cracking down and they're following a model 鈥� to round up a lot of people, jail them, and put them in the worst prison camps in Venezuela. Unfortunately, the situation in Venezuela is going to get much much worse before it gets any better.鈥�
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
You can listen to the full conversation above or wherever you get your podcasts by searching: The South Florida Roundup.
Want more stories about the Americas? Sign up for SA国际传谋鈥檚 Americas Report newsletter and we鈥檒l send a round up of the most important news and stories from the hemisphere, every Thursday morning.
