Venezuela launches criminal investigation into opposition leaders

On Sunday, the Washington Post said it had reviewed more than 23,000 of the tally sheets collected by the opposition, external – which amounts to 80% of voting machines across Venezuela.

The Post concluded that Mr González had “likely received more than twice as many votes as President Nicolás Maduro”.

On Monday, the opposition published a statement on X stating that Mr González had won 67% of the vote compared to Mr Maduro’s 30%.

The statement, signed by both Mr González and Ms Machado, said the opposition had achieved an “overwhelming victory”.

It is at odds with the result announced by the CNE, which declared Mr Maduro the winner with 52% of the vote against 43% for Mr González.

The opposition statement elicited an immediate response from Attorney General Tarek William Saab, who accused the pair of “falsely announcing an election winner different to the one proclaimed by the National Electoral Council (CNE)”.

He said the statement also “openly incited officials from the police and military to disobey the laws”.

Mr Saab added that he had decided to open a criminal investigation against both opposition leaders.