CARACAS, August 12. /TASS/. At least 25 people, including two policemen, were killed in the riots that followed Venezuela’s presidential election, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said.
"The wave of violence on July 29 and 30 demanded firm and decisive measures from the security agencies, thanks to which peace was restored. However, during this period, criminals and terrorists acted with such fierceness that, unfortunately, 25 people were killed, including two members of the National Guard in the states of Aragua and Nueva Esparta," he said at a meeting of the Venezuelan Security Council, which was broadcast on Telesur television.
Of the total death toll, 17 people were killed between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on July 29, the attorney general said.
"It has been established by now that criminal gangs were involved in all the deaths," Saab said.
Venezuela held presidential elections on July 28. The National Electoral Council announced after processing almost 97% of ballots that 51.95% of people voted for the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, while 43.18% voted for his main rival, the candidate from the far-right-wing opposition Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. One of the opposition leaders, Maria Corina Machado, said on the day of the vote that Gonzalez's team was not going to concede defeat.
The next day, protests and riots broke out in the center of Caracas. According to Venezuelan authorities, more than 2,200 rioters were detained for arson and other offenses.