JAKARTA - Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Monday that Venezuela is run by a dictator, without mentioning the name of current Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
"I know for a fact, and Venezuela is currently run by a dictator," Trump said in an interview on the live streaming platform Kick, as reported by Reuters on August 6.
Following the July 28 election, Venezuela's Supreme Electoral Council declared President Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner with 51 percent of the vote, prompting accusations of fraud from the opposition.
The opposition said its own detailed tally showed that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez likely received 67 percent of the vote.
In the interview, Trump went on to say that crime had dropped dramatically in Venezuela because "they've taken the criminal elements and they've moved them to the United States," a statement referring to the Biden administration's border security policies.
"They're drug dealers, they're criminals, they're murderers, they're rapists. They've all been moved to the United States," Trump said without citing evidence.
It is known that the situation in Venezuela is heating up, along with the mutual claims between incumbent Maduro and opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, regarding victory in the Presidential Election held on July 28. The National Electoral Council then announced that Maduro won the election with more than 51 percent of the vote.
This sparked tension followed by street action by supporters of both parties. Most recently, President Maduro announced that security forces had detained around 2,000 protesters after a demonstration ended in clashes.
Several countries have congratulated President Maduro on the results of the Venezuelan Presidential Election. Meanwhile, the US itself has recognized the victory of the opposition under Gonzalez. Meanwhile, several other countries are urging transparency in the election results to be made public.
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