The leaders of Cuba, Colombia, Honduras and Nicaragua extended their congratulations to Nicolas Maduro for winning the presidential election in Venezuela for the third time. In the elections held on July 28, Maduro garnered 51.2% of the votes, against his opponent Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who got 44.2%.

This is despite the attempt by the US and its allies to disrupt the election by hacking the data transmission system which delayed the release of the results. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (NEC) said 80% of the votes had been counted when its polling system was attacked. The NEC blamed the interference in the democratic process in Venezuela on the so-called “Lima Group” or governments in Latin America and the Caribbean who wanted to disrupt and reverse the elections to oust Maduro’s ruling party. These include Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic. These governments are under the Organization of American States (OAS), the US arm for its intervention and neoliberal programs in Latin America.

Pro-US opposition, institutions and media accused Maduro and Venezuelan agencies of “fraud.” They even declared Gonzalez the “undisputed winner,” contrary to the official election results. It led and instigated the violent demonstrations that are now taking place in the country.

Election observers from South Africa criticized the allegations of fraud and said the poll was free and fair. They specifically condemned reprts filed by the Reuters media group (which Rappler published) which they said was malicious and baseless especially since it did not even send a journalist to actually monitored the polls. Even US observers were cautious of fraud allegations and said only that the process lacked “transparency,” making the election results difficult to “verify”.

A large part of the elections in Venezuela is automated. It has mechanisms for extensive manual auditing, including random verification of ballots in 54.31% of the machines used.

“This (election) is a victory for the national independence and dignity of the Venezuelan people,” Maduro said after declaring his victory. “On this day, the dignity and courage of the Venezuelan people prevailed against pressure and manipulation.”

In the Philippines, the Philippine-Bolivarian Venezuela Friendship Association (PBVFA) hailed the “peaceful, transparent and successful” elections in Venezuela. “We celebrate yet another win over US imperialism for national sovereignty and the right to self-determination. This is a win for all peoples fighting tyranny and imperialism around the world, not just for Venezuela.”

“We express our utmost solidarity and celebrate the Venezuelan people’s victory over the long-standing hybrid war waged by the US imperialists.” “The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been fighting an asymmetrical warfare inflicted by U.S. Imperialism through economic blockades and sanctions, numerous attempts to topple the government and assassinate President Maduro, widespread misinformation portraying the country and President Maduro as ‘authoritarian’ and ‘corrupt,’ and support for right-wing fascist groups in Venezuela and their horrifying destruction of …production in Venezuelan communes, the nationalization of the oil industry, and technology-intensive agricultural planning.”

Maduro defeated Urritia, the substitute candidate for the opposition’s Maria Corina Machado. Machado was disqualified from running for election after being linked to the crimes of Juan Guaidó and because of her support for the US-imposed economic sanctions on Venezuela. She is one of the key politicians who has long been at the forefront of ousting Venezuela’s independent government at the instigation and direction of the US. In 2004, she was kicked out of parliament after participating in an OAS meeting, contrary to Venezuela’s official position. She also received funding from the National Endowment of Democracy (NED), an agency under the Central Intelligence Agency of the US. She is one of the Venezuela’s strongest proponents of neoliberal policies, including the massive privatization of public services and corporations. In addition to supporting sanctions on her own country that have impoverished millions of her countrymen, she has openly campaigned for foreign military intervention to oust Maduro. In return, the US awarded her and recognized her “role” as the “opposition” in Venezuela.

Guaidó, on the other hand, is a politician who was elected to the national assembly in 2018 but declared himself “president” in a brazen power grab. The US recognized him as the “real president” of Venezuela, despite not having been elected to the position. The US pushed for the OAS to recognize him in 2019, but the resolution did not pass due to the opposition of many countries in Latin America. Guaidó was kicked out of Venezuela and is currently under protection in the US.