After polling suggested the opposition would win in troubled Venezuela, the Maduro regime has claimed victory in an election where he banned his main opponent and the military supervised the voting process.
Chile’s President Gabriel Boric undiplomatically said that Maduro’s government “must understand” that the results giving him the victory “are difficult to believe,” adding that his government won’t recognise “any result that is not verifiable.”
Chile’s foreign affairs minister tweeted, “given the situation in Venezuela, we think its important to wait for the opinion of international observers.”
Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves rejected Maduro’s win, “We will work with the democratic countries across the continent and international organizations to achieve the respect the Venezuelan people deserve,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.” The only regional power to welcome the result was the Cuban dictatorship, congratulating Maduro and promising Cuba would “stand by the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution…”
Speaking to Sky News off the back of Rachel Reeves’ Air Passenger Duty hike, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said:
“Labour is dependent on those Red Wall seats, and yet every move she makes poisons economic growth and damages the UK’s recovery… it’s the Chancellor who stumbles from policy misstep to policy misstep… I think her policy decisions are incredibly stupid.”