White House spokesperson John Kirby issued a warning to the Venezuelan government on Wednesday as tensions continue to rise over the lack of granular data regarding the presidential elections' results.
Speaking in Washington, Kirby said that, same as the rest of the international community, "our patience is running out on waiting for the Venezuelan electoral authorities to come clean and release the full, detailed data on this election so everyone can see the results."
The statement comes as a growing list of countries are urging the Maduro government to present the documents supporting their victory claim, with regional power brokers such as Colombia and Brazil issuing such statements over the past hours.
Late on Tuesday, American and Brazilian Presidents Joe Biden and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called on Venezuela to release "full, transparent and detailed voting data at the polling station level."
"The two leaders shared the perspective that the Venezuelan election outcome represents a critical moment for democracy in the hemisphere, and they pledged to remain in close coordination on the issue," the White House said in a statement following a conversation between the two leaders.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who has been reluctant to criticize the Venezuelan government, said there are "grave doubts about the electoral process" that could lead to "further and violent polarization." "I invite the Venezuelan government to allow the elections end in peace by allowing a transparent tally," Petro added.
Maduro, on his end, made a presentation before the highest court in the country, whose members are also friendly with the government, claiming the opposition is trying to destabilize the country. The opposition has released results of its own showing a landslide victory.
Kirby also expressed concern about the possibility that "Maduro and his representatives issue arrest warrants against opposition leaders." One of them, Freddy Superlano, was abducted on Tuesday, and the opposition has denounced he has been tortured to provide statements benefiting the government.
Maduro also asked the judiciary to act against top leader María Corina Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia. And two other top figures gave inflammatory speeches on Tuesday packed with more clear threats.
Jorge Rodríguez, head of the National Assembly, was the first one to speak, saying that legal actions must be taken against opposition leaders. He specifically named Machado and González Urrutia as figures who should be imprisoned for their roles in what he described as a "fascist conspiracy:"
Shortly after Rodriguez ended his speech, came Diosdado Cabello, the prominent Chavismo leader, who echoed his predecessor 's threats warning of imminent arrests for opposition leaders, including Machado and González, asserting the government had incriminating communications.
Machado, on her end, continued warning about an escalation by law enforcement and said at least 16 people have been killed as a result of police repression.
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