Billionaire Elon Musk discussed fighting Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in his social media platform, X, after the latter blasted him during a TV appearance over criticism regarding the government's electoral fallout.
On Monday, Maduro described Musk as a the new "archenemy to the peace of Venezuela." He said the mogul is "desperate to come to Venezuela with his rockets and an army to invade Venezuela," and openly challenged him to a fight.
"Whoever messes with me, fails. Whoever messes with Venezuela, fails. You want to fight? Let's have it, Elon Musk. I am ready. I am the son of (Simón) Bolívar and (Hugo) Chávez," the president said.
Musk, known for his penchant for social media controversies, quickly picked the glove. In a series of posts, he said he accepted the challenge and taunted Maduro, replying in a post that he will "chicken out" from the fight.
He later responded to a poll about who would win in such an event, saying: "If I win, he resigns as dictator of Venezuela. If he wins, I give him a free ride to Mars." The poll, with 100,000 votes, has Musk as the hypothetical victor with over 80% of the votes.
If I win, he resigns as dictator of Venezuela.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 31, 2024
If he wins, I give him a free ride to Mars.
Maduro reacted to Musk's replies on Wednesday evening, acknowledging the acceptance: "He accepted, let's have at it. If I win, I accept going to Mars, but you come with me."
Maduro continues to face widespread criticism for his government's failure to provide granular results backing its claimed victory. Instead, he has doubled down, claiming that the opposition is leading an attack to destabilize the administration.
"These people have to be behind bars, justice must be done," he said in a press conference with foreign press. "They have blood on their hands. They will never, ever reach political power. These criminals will never achieve it" he added, in reference to opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia.
Meanwhile, NGO Foro Penal, which advocates for human rights in Venezuela and offers legal assistance to victims of State-sponsored repression, reports that 11 people have been killed since the protests began and 429 arrests have been committed since the protests began.
The UN Fact-Finding Mission reporting on Venezuela also released a statement on Wednesday, warning of "human rights violations in the post-electoral context and accelerated reactivation of the repressive machinery". The statement also reads:
"Public order control operations must comply with international human rights standards and norms, according to which the use of force must be proportionate and must be aimed at the protection of life."
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