ReutersOpposition supporters have gathered across Venezuela to protest Nicolas Maduro’s disputed victory in last month’s presidential election.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado joined thousands of protesters in the capital, Caracas, and urged them not to be afraid.
Ms Machado, who was in hiding after being accused of insurrection, said there was nothing above the voice of the people and that the people had spoken.
Police and the army were deployed in force as supporters of Mr Maduro also staged a protest.
“We will not leave the streets,” Machado told the protesters, many of whom held up copies of polling station reports as proof of victory.
She had called for nationwide protests to step up pressure on Mr Maduro to back down.
Mr Maduro insisted he had won a third six-year term, but the opposition released results it said showed his candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, winning by a wide margin.
Speaking from an unidentified location, Mr Gonzalez said it was time for an “orderly transition”.
The electoral commission, controlled by allies of Mr Maduro, declined to release detailed results but said he had won with 52% of the vote. Independent observers said it lacked transparency.
ReutersSince the election, anti-government protests have erupted and hundreds of people have been arrested by security forces, who remain loyal to President Maduro.
According to the Venezuelan government, more than 2,400 people have been arrested since July 29, the day the disputed election result was announced.
The UN has denounced the fact that street protests and criticism on social media have been facing “fierce repression” from the state.
Similar protests have taken place in cities around the world, from Australia to Spain, but also in the United Kingdom, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina.
The European Union, the United States and a number of Latin American countries have refused to recognize the result.
