LAFAYETTE, KATC - Protests have erupted in Venezuela after claims of a stolen election. The unrest comes as Venezuela authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro was formally declared the winner of the presidential election by the country’s electoral authority, a branch of government he controls.
The opposition spearheaded by Maria Corina Machado rejects Maduro’s victory. She claims her campaign with opposition candidate Edmundo González won by a landslide.
According to AP News, González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told reporters they have obtained more than 70% of tally sheets from Sunday’s election, and they show González with more than double Maduro’s votes.
Jorge Rodriguez, the deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela, said Maurdo led with 51.2% of the votes and González with 44.2%.
Many allege Rodriguez’s tally is riddled with irregularities. Leaders like Senator Bill Cassidy denounced Mauro’s victory, calling for transparency. On Monday, Senator Cassidy delivered a speech on the senate floor condemning the election results.
Senator Cassidy saying:
“The world knows what happened at the ballot box over the weekend. But do we have the courage to come together, stand against Maduro, and tell him “Not this time! I sure hope so.”
On Tuesday, Senator Cassidy told KATC the U.S. needs to collaborate with allies to stop the instability happening on the ground.
"We need to collaborate with allies (like) Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and others to see what pressure point we can make. There has to be creative thinking but we have to somewhat respond to the events on the ground," he said.
The unrest is also impacting communities close to home.
Wanda Salazar, who owns Patacon Latin Cuisine, a Venezuelan restaurant in Lafayette, says she’s paying a close eye on how things are unfolding in her home country. With the booming oil and gas industry in Acadiana, Salazar and her husband decided to leave Venezuela in 2006 to work in Lafayette. Two years later, she opened her restaurant serving traditional Venezuelan cuisines.
Clinging on to her faith, she’s relying on international support to help mitigate this high-stake election.
“We really have hope. International support is important so that what needs to happen really happens,” Salazar said.
And despite the uncertainty, her niece Elimar Mendoza, who works at the restaurant, is optimistic that change will come.
“We are a little scared because we have family, friends, we have a lot of people in Venezuela but at the same time we feel a little bit of hope that it can be achieved, that we can finally go back and finally celebrate what we worked hard for,” Mendoza said.
