Venezuelan opposition calls for mass protest against Maduro on December 1st

(Patria) - Venezuelan opposition leaders have called for mass protests on December 1st against the disputed re-election of President Nicolas Maduro, as his government claimed to have uncovered another alleged plot to "destabilize" and made arrests, AFP reported.

"We must act now," opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said at a virtual meeting with other activists. She said that mass demonstrations in Venezuela and abroad would be held on December 1st, and promised "more decisive action" ahead of January 10th, when the next presidential term is supposed to begin.

Machado claims that her party's candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, convincingly defeated Maduro in the July 28th elections, a claim supported by several nations, including the United States.

Venezuela's electoral authorities declared Maduro re-elected for a third consecutive term, and refuse to release detailed voting data.

Prosecutors on Friday opened a treason investigation against Machado, who has been in hiding, accusing her of supporting US sanctions against the country.

Following the disputed elections, at least 28 people were killed in anti-government protests, hundreds injured, and thousands arrested in crackdowns. Authorities subsequently launched investigations against opposition leaders and an arrest warrant was issued for Gonzalez Urrutia.

He fled to Spain but promised to return to be sworn in as president on January 10th.

"There is no doubt about that," he said at the virtual meeting.

"We are fighting, we are taking our voice, the voice of all Venezuelans, abroad," he said, adding that he had found "great acceptance" for the opposition's cause during visits to Portugal, Italy, and Belgium.

Maduro's Minister of Interior announced on Saturday that three judges, a prosecutor, and a soldier were arrested for participating in an alleged plot to overthrow the government.

"There is a new plot, a new operation against the country, a new destabilization operation" based in the northwestern state of Zulia, Diosdado Cabello told reporters.

Cabello claimed that paramilitary groups are being trained in Colombia and Ecuador to attack Venezuela. According to him, the five individuals detained on Saturday have "direct links" to Machado and other opposition figures.

The government has often denounced what it calls destabilization plans against the country. The US, which has consistently stated that Gonzalez Urrutia won more votes than Maduro, this week referred to him as Venezuela's "president-elect" for the first time, a designation later echoed by Italy.