Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has yielded to pressure from protesters and neighboring countries, announcing an audit of the recent presidential election results. However, he continues to engage in verbal sparring with rival leaders, particularly Argentina’s Javier Milei.

“The fraud carried out and perpetrated by the dictator Nicolás Maduro is nothing less than a Pyrrhic victory,” Milei stated in a TikTok video. “He may believe he has won a battle. However, the most important thing is that the Venezuelan lions have awakened, and sooner or later socialism will come to an end.”

Maduro, in response to opposition claims of victory and international concerns about the election’s fairness, requested the Supreme Court to conduct an audit on Wednesday. He asserted that his party possesses the electoral tally sheets and is ready to share them.

“The serious doubts that have arisen around the Venezuelan electoral process can lead its people to a deep violent polarization with serious consequences of permanent division,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on X. 

“I invite to allow the elections to end in peace, allowing a transparent vote count, with the counting of votes, and with the supervision of all the political forces of its country and professional international supervision,” Petro added. 

Anti-government protests have persisted in the days following the election, where the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner with an alleged margin of 51% to the opposition’s 44%.

However, pre-election polling, which is illegal in Venezuela, indicated that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez enjoyed double the support compared to Maduro and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

Venezuelans engaged in peaceful protests, but Maduro deployed police to suppress the demonstrations and clear the streets, resulting in violent clashes and escalation. Protesters, expressing their anger over the election result and alleged fraud, tore down statues of Hugo Chavez.

, a non-profit organization founded by former President Jimmy Carter dedicated to promoting human rights, concluded that Venezuela’s election “did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic.”

“The Carter Center cannot verify or corroborate the results of the election declared by the National Electoral Council (CNE), and the electoral authority’s failure to announce disaggregated results by polling station constitutes a serious breach of electoral principles,” the center stated.

“The election took place in an environment of restricted freedoms for political actors, civil society organizations, and the media,” the center added. “Throughout the electoral process, the CNE demonstrated a clear bias in favor of the incumbent.”

Maduro assumed office in 2013 as Chavez’s chosen successor, but allegations of electoral manipulation by PSUV have persisted, leading opposition parties to boycott the 2018 election. They subsequently united behind Gonzalez for the most recent election.

Milei was among the first regional leaders to label the victory an “electoral scam” and Maduro a “fraud,” prompting calls from other nations, including Chile, for Maduro to release evidence of his victory, such as district-by-district vote breakdowns. Maduro’s refusal to do so has further fueled protests.

Maduro responded to Milei’s criticism with insults, calling him a “cowardly bug,” a “traitor to the homeland,” and a “fascist.” He also challenged Milei to a direct confrontation, stating, “You couldn’t stand a round against me,” the .

An unidentified plainclothes military intelligence officer told journalists that the country is “at war” and that any disrespect towards Chávez is an offense to millions of Venezuelans who revere the former army paratrooper and anti-imperialist icon.

Maduro claimed that several individuals have been arrested for participating in the attacks, which he compared to revolutions instigated by the U.S. in post-Soviet states and Georgia.

“What do these people have in their head? In the heart?” Maduro questioned in a televised address on Monday night, displaying images of the attacks. “Just imagine if they one day gain power here, what they would be capable of doing.”

Attorney General Tarek William Saab issued arrest warrants for Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, accusing them of attacking the electoral system without “proof,” according to . 

Maduro and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez also called for the arrest of opposition leadership, accusing them of perpetuating a “fascist conspiracy.”