Venezuela’s Maduro Refuses To Leave Power As His Political Opponents Come Under Threat Of Arrest

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has shown no signs of stepping down from power — even after likely losing in the country’s presidential elections last week — as his top political opposition faces potential arrest, according to several reports.

Maduro, a socialist and widely viewed as a dictator, declared victory in Venezuela’s presidential elections in late July even as questions immediately arose as to the legitimacy of the results. The U.S. and some Latin American nations have refused to recognize Maduro as the winner amid independent reports from the opposition showing that Edmundo González — Maduro’s primary competition in the race — actually won a majority of the votes, according to the Associated Press.

But Maduro has thus far refused to admit his loss or step aside from power, and the government’s top prosecutor issued a criminal investigation on Monday into González and his party ally, Maria Corina Machado.

“ falsely announced a winner of the presidential election other than the one proclaimed by the National Electoral Council, the only body qualified to do so,” Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement on Monday, per a translation provided by the AP.