A diplomatic rift between President Nicolas Maduro’s administration in Venezuela and neighboring countries is deepening over the disputed results of the presidential election in the South American nation.
Venezuela’s electoral officials announced that Maduro had won Sunday’s election. However, the opposition camp claims that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won by a wide margin. This has raised international doubts about the election results.
The Maduro administration has been ramping up pressure on the opposition members who reject the results. A local nongovernmental organization says clashes between protesters and security forces resulted in 11 deaths and the detention of over 670 people as of Thursday.
The administration has also ordered diplomats from seven Latin American countries that question the election results to leave Venezuela. In response, Argentina announced it would withdraw its diplomatic mission by the end of Thursday. Chile also pulled out some of its diplomats on the same day.
Meanwhile, Peru on Monday instructed Venezuelan diplomats stationed in the country to leave within 72 hours.