Berliner Tageblatt - Venezuela army vows 'absolute loyalty' to Maduro after opposition appeal

Opposition leaders Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado on Monday appealed to the "conscience" of the military and police officers -- traditionally staunch allies of Maduro -- to "take the side of the people".

They were met with a swift criminal probe from prosecutors investigating them for announcing an election winner other than Maduro, instigating disobedience, insurrection, and conspiracy.

In a statement declaring "absolute loyalty" to Maduro, Defense Minister and army chief Vladimir Padrino said: "We strongly reject the desperate and seditious approaches" that "seek to undermine our unity and institutionality, but will never succeed."

The opposition insists Gonzalez Urrutia was the rightful victor of the July 28 presidential election, which has plunged the oil-rich nation into political crisis.

Multiple countries, including the United States and Argentina, have recognized Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner, while others, such as the European Union, have stopped short of doing so while calling for full publication of voting records.

The National Electoral Council said Monday it had presented all these records to the Supreme Court for certification, as requested by Maduro -- but not publicly.

The contested election sparked protests last week that left at least 11 civilians dead, according to rights groups, with more than 2,000 arrested.

Maduro on Monday called for a boycott of the WhatsApp messaging platform, alleging that military, police and community leaders who support his re-election had received threats via the app.

"I am going to delete my WhatsApp from my phone forever, little by little I will move my contacts to Telegram, to WeChat," said Maduro, who has also taken aim at TikTok and Instagram for promoting "division" and "hatred" among Venezuelans.

Machado -- who was barred from running in the election and backed Gonzalez Urrutia -- on Tuesday denounced a "campaign of terror" in the country.

"They want to intimidate us so that we do not communicate, because isolated we would be much weaker and that is not going to happen. Fear will not paralyze us and we will not leave the streets," Machado said in an audio message released on social media.

European Union spokesman Peter Stano on Tuesday told Venezuela's government that a campaign of intimidation against the opposition "needs to stop".

"We are calling on the authorities to stop this, this campaign of intimidation of the opposition and judicial intimidation," he said.

L.Janezki--BTB