At least four dead as protests erupt over disputed Venezuela election

Four people are now known to have died during protests in Venezuela triggered by Nicolás Maduro’s disputed election win.

Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters challenging the victory, which was claimed by the president on Monday but disputed by the opposition and questioned by many other countries.

The National Hospital Survey, a network that monitors crises in the country’s hospitals, reported two dead in the state of Aragua and one in the capital Caracas.

Earlier, Foro Penal, an NGO that specialises in political prisoner issues, reported a one fatality in north-west Yaracuy. 44 people are thought to have been injured.

In Caracas, the capital, members of the national guard fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, with some wearing motorbike helmets and bandannas tied over their faces for protection. Some responded by throwing rocks back.

Protests were reported in very poor areas of Caracas that had been bastions of support for Mr Maduro and his socialist government. Shots were heard in some areas and protests also broke out elsewhere in Venezuela.

Marina Sugey, a 42-year-old resident of a poor area of Caracas called Petare, told AFP: “We want freedom. We want Maduro to go. Maduro, leave!”

In the capital’s Petare neighbourhood, people started walking and shouting against Mr Maduro, and some masked young people tore down campaign posters of him hung on lampposts. Heavily armed security forces were standing just a few blocks away from the protest.

María Arráez, a 27-year-old hairdresser and protester, said: “He has to go. One way or another.”

As the crowd marched through a different neighbourhood, it was cheered on by retirees and office workers who banged on pots and recorded the protest in a show of support.

Two statues of Hugo Chavez, the late socialist icon who led the country for more than a decade and handpicked Mr Maduro as his successor, were knocked down by protesters.

Some ripped Maduro campaign posters from street posts and burned them.

Edmundo González, who ran as the opposition candidate, announced on Monday that his campaign has the proof it needs to show he won the election.

Mr González and Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader, told reporters they have obtained more than 70 per cent of tally sheets from Sunday’s election, and they show Mr González with more than double Mr Maduro’s votes.

“I speak to you with the calmness of the truth,” Mr González said as dozens of supporters cheered outside campaign headquarters in Caracas. “We have in our hands the tally sheets that demonstrate our categorical and mathematically irreversible victory.”

Both called on protesters to remain calm and invited them to gather peacefully at 11am (4pm BST) on Tuesday to celebrate the results.

Edison research, a company that provided election data for the Venezuelan election, published exit poll results that show Mr González as the winner by 65 per cent.

Several foreign governments, including the US and the EU, held off recognising the election results.

Mr Maduro dismissed international criticism and doubts about the result of Sunday’s voting, claiming Venezuela was the target of an attempted “coup d’etat” of a “fascist and counter-revolutionary” nature.

Mr Maduro, 61, attended a meeting on Monday at which the National Electoral Council (CNE) certified his re-election to a third six-year term until 2031.

The opposition’s cry of foul play prompted Tarek William Saab, the attorney general, to link Mr Machado to an alleged cyber “attack” seeking to “adulterate” the results.