Protesters in Venezuela Call for President Nicolas Maduro To Stand Down

TaiwanPlus News

Venezuela's opposition leader has been released after being detained at a protest hours before the inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro. Protesters are demanding Maduro step down, as the result of the country's July elections remains contested.

Transcript

00:00Protests across Venezuela

00:06and around the world

00:13in a last-ditch attempt to block the country's strongman leader

00:17Nicolas Maduro clinging to power.

00:19Hours before he's due to be inaugurated for a third term,

00:22his opponents demand he stand down,

00:25still contesting the results of July's presidential election.

00:30To claim the elections that we did,

00:33gently and happily, each one of us,

00:36we land in the hope of God to get Maduro out.

00:41Because Maduro's government is now unsustainable

00:45in all aspects of life.

00:47I feel that this time we are all united.

00:49No one wants to endure this tyranny and this horrible dictatorship

00:54that has ravaged our country.

00:55And no one wants to see our country in those hands.

01:00Maduro has ruled the country of 28 million people since 2013.

01:06And in a special presidential election called six months ago,

01:09the government-controlled electoral authorities

01:12declared him the winner for another six-year term.

01:17The opposition claimed the result was marred by fraud,

01:20saying their candidate, Edmundo González,

01:23was the legitimate victor with 70% of the vote.

01:26Those accusations are backed by leaders across the globe

01:30who've called for election tallies to be released.

01:33Independent observers also found the opposition's tallies to be legitimate.

01:37And countries like the U.S. have formally recognized González

01:40as Venezuela's president-elect.

01:44But he was forced to flee to Spain in September

01:47after a court released a warrant for his arrest,

01:49accusing the opposition leader of conspiracy and terrorism

01:52amid the presidential dispute.

01:56That left popular opposition figure Maria Carina Machado in charge.

02:01And she's just addressed supporters for the first time in months.

02:26This crime against the constitution and popular sovereignty

02:32will be sentenced to its fate.

02:38As Machado left the demonstration, she was detained by officials.

02:42But the arrest was short-lived.

02:44And she was released after leaders from across Latin America

02:47and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump denounced the move.

02:50Maduro's government said the news of her arrest

02:53was fabricated to dent the administration's reputation.

03:14Maduro's government has tightened security measures ahead of his inauguration,

03:18as opposition leader González pledges to return to Venezuela

03:21to crash the re-election party.

03:26As the swearing-in ceremony draws closer,

03:28protesters here and around the world remain defiant,

03:32demanding change in a country they say has long been scarred by bad management.

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