The elections in Venezuela

The opposition leader lives in hiding: Fearing for my life

María Corina Machado, opposition leader in Venezuela, has gone underground and fears for her own life. She writes that in a debate article in the Wall Street Journal after incumbent President Nicolás Maduro demanded that the country's opposition leader be put in prison.

"I may be captured as I write these words," Machado writes, continuing:

"We Venezuelans have done our duty. We have voted out Mr. Maduro. Now it is up to the international community to decide whether they can tolerate a government that is clearly illegitimate.”

Just hours after Machado's article was published, Maduro gave a televised speech on a state-owned channel. There he warned that two prisons that had been renovated would soon be ready for "thousands" of Venezuelans who protested the election results, writes Bloomberg.

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The US recognizes the opposition as the winner in the presidential election

The United States recognizes opposition leader Edmundo González as the winner of the presidential election in Venezuela, reports AFP.

The Americans thus reject incumbent President Nicolás Maduro's claims that he won the election on Sunday.

"Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the majority of votes in Venezuela's presidential election on July 28," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

According to Venezuela's electoral commission, Maduro received 51 percent of the vote, a figure that is disputed both in the country and internationally.

Reuters writes that the United States is considering new sanctions against Venezuela, as a result of the disputed election results.