A billionaire, an “ultra-capitalist,” a Donald Trump supporter. Elon Musk is everything Nicolás Maduro claims to detest, and for several days now he has been mentioned frequently in his speeches.
Calling him an “arch enemy,” he accuses Musk of orchestrating “attacks against Venezuela” and even being behind the alleged “hack” the ruling party CNE National Electoral Council claims to have been a victim of, and which proclaimed Maduro the winner without giving any details of the voting.
On Tuesday, after a joint meeting between the State and Security Councils bringing together all the branches of the State and in particular the Armed Forces, considered the backbone of his government, Maduro announced the creation of “a special committee to evaluate, with Russian and Chinese advice” the security system, and in particular, the hack which according to his government damanged the CNE’s communication system.
Elon Musk periodically comments on Maduro’s policies on X.
When asked about the criticism, a high official from the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry commented: “We know who musk is. He’s far-right and he supports (Argentine President Javier) Milei. So we take it all as a compliment."
Before the voting, Musk posted: “It’s time for the Venezuelan people to have the chance for a better future. Support María Corina!”, in reference to the charismatic leader, the star of the opposition campaign for the presidential election.
When the results were announced on Sunday, Musk posted: “Shame on dictator Maduro”...”What a sham,” in reference to the figures announced by the CNE and considered by the opposition as fraud.
The comments by the billionaire angered Maduro: “He’d like to come with his rockets and an army to invade Venezuela. Elon Musk, fortunately you showed your face because we knew you were behind all this! With your money, with your satellites”.
“He wants to control the world, he already controls Argentina (...) You want a fight, Elon Musk? I’m ready, I’m the son of [Simón] Bolívar and [Hugo] Chávez, I’m not afraid of you,” the socialist head of state challenged, heading for a third term running which would keep him in power for 18 years.
When he posted Maduro’s video, Musk commented in Spanish: “El burro sabe más que Maduro (the donkey knows more than Maduro)" and then wrote again in Spanish: "Perdón por comparar al pobre burro con Maduro, es un insulto al mundo animal (sorry for comparing the poor donkey to Maduro, it’s an insult to the animal world)”.
Maduro, who usually denounces any censorship against him, proclaimed himself the winner in the face of the attacks of the tycoon and the “global far-right”.
“The people have defeated bots and Elon Musk, we won against bots and Elon Musk,” the head of state celebrated.
– TIMES/AFP
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