Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro announced on Tuesday that he would use the regime’s social media platform, VenApp, to report dissidents and “stand against them” amid growing protests against his attempts to rig the July 28 presidential election.
Nationwide protests against what is widely seen as a sham election have left around 12 people dead and more than 100 injured, detained or missing.
In Venezuela, socialist-controlled elected officials have called Maduro “thewinnerThe “final results” of Sunday’s election, in which electoral officials claim Maduro received 51 percent of the vote and was “re-elected” to a new six-year term starting in January 2025. The “election” was expected to be certified by the regime-controlled electoral authorities on Monday afternoon, but final results had not been announced at the time of writing.
Venezuelan opposition leaders are disputing the election results and claim to have authentic vote tally documents showing their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won a fraudulent election. The opposition claims Gonzalez won an overwhelming majority of the votes on Sunday.
Gonzalez’s group has a digital version of the spreadsheets in its possession. Website Detailed voting results by state and municipality are published on a separate website. Website There is no documentation provided by the Venezuelan National Electoral Center (CNE), which is run by Maduro.
This situation triggered a new wave protest Attacks against Venezuela’s socialists have led to violent clashes with the Venezuelan police and National Guard, both controlled by the Maduro regime, as well as with insurgents working for Maduro. Colectivos gang.
The exact death toll was unclear as of Wednesday morning. Reports The number of arrests announced Tuesday was about 12, including at least two minors, according to Alfredo Romero, head of the Venezuelan non-governmental organization Foro Penal.
Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the opposition’s presidential primary, but Maduro is banned from running for public office. Condemned On Wednesday morning, it was reported that 177 cases of arbitrary detention, as well as 11 enforced disappearances and at least 16 murders had occurred in the past 48 hours.
The administration’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab Threatened Anyone who does not recognize Maduro as the country’s legitimate leader faces up to six years in prison. Threatened If he doesn’t “win” on Sunday it will be a “bloody catastrophe.”
President Maduro rallied supporters at the Miraflores presidential palace on Tuesday afternoon. The socialist dictator said in his speech: Announced The VenApp social media platform is adding a new feature that will allow citizens to “anonymously” identify protesters and general political dissidents to authorities.
“We are going to open a special window on the VenApp page that we used for the 1×10 of the good government on page 58. Now we are going to open a special window for all Venezuelan citizens, where they will secretly enter the data of all the criminals who have threatened our people and attacked our people so that swift justice can be done,” Maduro said.
“VenApp” publishes the app’s public information, based on information from Nicolás Maduro, to show the opposite results to those of Elvis Amoroso’s CNE.
pic.twitter.com/VXmEcEmkAw— ¿Any trends? (@estendenciavzl) July 31, 2024
VenApp is a social media platform launched in 2022 that is developed and operated by the Maduro regime. Website It offers a marketplace and delivery services. Additionally, the platform has a subsection called “Line 58” where users can lodge and report complaints about Venezuela’s constantly failing basic public services.
The platform is also used by the Maduro administration’s “1×10 Good Governance Program.” Claim It will be a “transparency and accountability” program for the notoriously corrupt Venezuelan government.
The 1×10 “Program” also includes Already used Ahead of the fake election campaign, the Maduro regime has attempted to organize its supporters by diverting state resources and appointing a pro-Maduro socialist to rally together 10 other individuals who support Maduro.
Following President Maduro’s announcement, Surfaced Other social media accounts from Tuesday evening indicated that VenApp now features a reporting module that allows users to denounce “fascists.” Guarimba“Please specify the type of ‘damage’ caused by opponents of the (protests).”
Twitter users report Following the news on Tuesday night, social media users posted the VenApp to their smartphone app stores in an attempt to remove the government app. report On Wednesday morning, Google Play Store And Apple App Store The VenApp application appears to have been removed as it is no longer available for download on these platforms.
The Maduro regime has made extensive use of its own applications, websites and online platforms to control the Venezuelan population, the most prominent example being the “Homeland Platform,” a widespread social control program inspired by Communist China’s social credit system that the Maduro regime built and deployed on the Venezuelan population. assistance From China’s ZTE.
The platform handles vast amounts of user data, which the Maduro regime uses to control and distribute fuel rationing and meager welfare payments. scholarshipand other kinds of socialist “benefits.”
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan author documenting life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter. here.
