By Phil Stewart
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – A senior U.S. general accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday of undermining the democratic will of Venezuela’s people following July’s disputed presidential election, and said it was an example of how democracy was under attack around the world.
Venezuela’s electoral council has proclaimed Maduro, in power since 2013, as the winner of the July 28 election, but has not published complete voting tallies. Venezuela’s opposition has published its own tallies showing a landslide win for its candidate.
Some Western countries – nearly all democracies – as well as international bodies such as a United Nations panel of experts have called for Venezuela to release full tallies, with some alleging outright fraud by the socialist leader’s ruling party.
The U.S. government has cited “overwhelming evidence” that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received the most votes.
“Democracy and its fundamental values remain under attack globally and we don’t have to look any further than Venezuela, where Nicolas Maduro continues to undermine the democratic will of the Venezuelan people,” said Army General Laura Richardson, commander of the U.S. military’s Southern Command.
Speaking in Chile’s capital, Santiago, at a gathering of military leaders from across Latin America, Richardson directly blamed Maduro for causing the flight of millions of Venezuelans.
She also spoke more broadly about global threats to democratic values, including disinformation campaigns to “undermine the fabric of democratic societies.”
Maduro and officials from his administration have scoffed at international critiques, citing recent election scandals in the United States and Brazil as evidence of what they say is Western hypocrisy towards Venezuela.
Both the opposition and the ruling party have encouraged their supporters to attend rallies on Wednesday to mark the one-month anniversary of the vote.
Also speaking at the conference in Santiago was Chilean Defense Minister Maya Fernandez, the granddaughter of socialist former President Salvador Allende, who was overthrown in a bloody military coup in the 1970s by General Augusto Pinochet.
That coup marked the start of a series of right-wing, U.S.-friendly dictatorships that governed much of South America well into the 1980s and were characterized by mass arrests, torture and disappearances.
Fernandez didn’t cite Venezuela explicitly but spoke of the need for “respect for the self-determination and sovereignty of each country.” But Chile’s leftist administration has taken a strong line on Venezuela, with President Gabriel Boric earlier this month branding Maduro’s government as “a dictatorship that falsifies elections.”
U.S. Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also addressed the forum in Santiago, underscoring the need to work to preserve democracy in the region.
“This is a group committed to upholding an international system that respects democracy and national sovereignty,” Brown said, without specifically citing Venezuela.
Venezuelan representatives did not attend the event.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; additional reporting by Alexander Villegas in Santiago; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
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