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Situation in Venezuela remains under government’s strict control — president

Over 1,200 criminals were arrested, Nicolas Maduro said

CARACAS, August 2. /TASS/. The situation in Venezuela remains under the government’s strict control after criminal gangs and terrorist groups attempted to destabilize it in the wake of the presidential election, President Nicolas Maduro said in a speech aired by Venezolana de Televisión.

"Tensions that emerged on Sunday and continued on Monday and Tuesday, are now under control, and this control will become stricter day by day in order to ensure [the country’s] peace, prosperity and production," Maduro said.

"We have arrested over 1,200 criminals and are now searching for another 1,000, who will also be arrested," the president continued, adding that those individuals "underwent training in Texas, US, as well as in Colombia, Peru and Chile," and his government has video footage of these training sessions to prove it.

He also said that "the criminals set over 300 police stations on fire." In his words, around 80% of rioters were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

"We are catching them, one by one, and there will be no mercy," Maduro said, announcing that two maximum security prisons will be put into operation about two weeks later. "All criminals will go to maximum security prisons."

On July 28, Venezuela held a presidential election. According to the National Electoral Council’s bulletin issued after counting 80% of ballots, Maduro was supported by 5,150,092 voters, or 51.2%. His rival, Edmundo Gonzalez of the far-right parties, scored 4,445,978 votes, or 44.2%. Opposition leader Corina Machado did not recognize the election results.

On July 29, downtown Caracas was gripped with protests and riots. The protesters blamed the government for falsifying the outcome of the presidential election. Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said that almost 750 people were detained for taking part in the riots.

At present, the situation in Caracas and other cities is returning back to normal. Public transport is resuming its work. Shops have opened their doors. However, the situation remains tense in seedy neighborhoods of Caracas.

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