Henrique Brandao Johnson: Election Fraud in Venezuela Could Impact Elections in the United States

There is no doubt that electoral fraud was behind the results of the Venezuelan presidential election. No outsider or election observers were given the opportunity to verify the results. Nor was the regime-controlled electoral body able to show the protocols for the digital ballot boxes.

“We are deeply concerned that the purported outcome does not reflect the will or voice of the Venezuelan people,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The opposition believes so. Their candidate, Edmundo González, won the election with about 70 percent of the vote. Their data is based on three different polls of polling stations conducted across the country on election day. The opposition also managed to obtain more than 40 percent of the protocols from the ballot boxes, which show González with 70 percent of the vote compared to Maduro’s 30 percent.

“The Maduro regime must understand that the outcome is hard to believe. The international community, and especially the Venezuelan people, including millions of Venezuelans in exile, demand full transparency,” leftist Chilean President Gabriel Boric said in a statement.

That both the system The opposition’s claim to have won the presidential election means that it could turn violent in Venezuela. If the opposition takes to the streets, the regime will likely deploy the military to suppress the protests. The opposition’s only hope is for soldiers to turn their guns on the regime and side with the people. The only question is whether they dare.

Nicolás Maduro has already punished soldiers who were not loyal to the regime, leading the International Criminal Court in The Hague to indict him for crimes against humanity. Maduro doesn’t care. The electoral fraud shows that he intends to continue turning the oil-producing country into an international pariah that can only have relations with countries like Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Polls show that if Maduro is not ousted, a third of Venezuelans will leave the country. Half will do so within six months, which could affect the U.S. presidential election. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has been politically responsible for that border for the past three years, and if the situation worsens, Donald Trump could point to her failure to curb migration.

What is also worrying is that the Russian presence in Venezuela may increase. Russian oil companies are already present, and Russian military strategists are helping the Venezuelan armed forces with equipment.

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