Earlier this week, Spain’s parliament recognised opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the election, angering Maduro allies who called on the Venezuelan government to suspend commercial and diplomatic relations with Spain.

Tensions between Venezuela’s government and the US have increased as well following the election, whose result sparked protests within Venezuela in which hundreds of opposition activists were arrested.

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Venezuela’s Electoral Council, which is closely aligned with the Maduro administration, said Maduro won the election with 52 per cent of the vote but did not provide a detailed breakdown of the results.

Opposition activists, however, surprised the government by collecting tally sheets from 80 per cent of the nation’s voting machines. The tally sheets collected by the opposition were published online, and they indicate that Gonzalez won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.

Despite international condemnation over the election’s lack of transparency, Venezuela’s supreme court, which has long backed Maduro, confirmed his victory in August. Venezuela’s attorney-general then filed conspiracy charges against Gonzalez, who fled to Spain last week after it became clear he would be arrested.

Maduro has dismissed requests from several countries, including the leftist governments of Colombia and Brazil, to provide tally sheets that prove he won the election. Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, has long claimed the US is trying to overthrow him through sanctions and covert operations.

The Maduro administration has previously used Americans imprisoned in Venezuela to gain concessions from the US government.

AP

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