By the 9th, the Venezuelan government had blocked communications with X (formerly Twitter), led by American businessman Elon Musk. President Maduro had announced the 10-day blocking measure on the 8th. After the July 28th presidential election, Musk posted on X, “Shame on Maduro,” and “Massive election fraud,” criticizing the increasingly dictatorial government. Maduro was rebelling.

Maduro has also urged his citizens not to use the US-owned WhatsApp app, claiming it is being used to threaten the families of police officers and soldiers, and to use Chinese apps such as WeChat instead.

In the presidential election, the election management authority under the influence of the Maduro regime announced Maduro’s victory without providing transparent vote count information. The opposition party and the United States have not acknowledged his victory. (Kyodo News)