Ana Vanessa Herrero

A member of the UN fact-finding mission said in a statement that out of the people detained after the election, quote, many were subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as sexual violence, which was perpetrated against women and girls, but also against men.

A member of the UN fact-finding mission said in a statement that out of the people detained after the election, quote, many were subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as sexual violence, which was perpetrated against women and girls, but also against men.

The opposition candidate for president, Edmundo González Urrutia, fled Venezuela and got asylum in Spain. The leader of the opposition, María Corina Machado, is in hiding. I sent an email asking about the UN report to multiple email addresses for the permanent mission of Venezuela to the UN and got no response.

The opposition candidate for president, Edmundo González Urrutia, fled Venezuela and got asylum in Spain. The leader of the opposition, María Corina Machado, is in hiding. I sent an email asking about the UN report to multiple email addresses for the permanent mission of Venezuela to the UN and got no response.

An email we sent to the Ministry for Communication and Information came back with a reply saying our email had been blocked. Nicolas Maduro is still the president, and in January, if nothing changes, he will take office for a third six-year term. To state the obvious, elections aren't democracy. They're not enough.

An email we sent to the Ministry for Communication and Information came back with a reply saying our email had been blocked. Nicolas Maduro is still the president, and in January, if nothing changes, he will take office for a third six-year term. To state the obvious, elections aren't democracy. They're not enough.

Venezuela's great voting system was created under Hugo Chavez after he was elected. And over the course of successive elections, Chavez ended presidential term limits. He consolidated control over the Supreme Court and the military. The legislature is no longer a check on presidential power. And now Maduro has all of that at his disposal as he tries to put the results of this election behind him.

Venezuela's great voting system was created under Hugo Chavez after he was elected. And over the course of successive elections, Chavez ended presidential term limits. He consolidated control over the Supreme Court and the military. The legislature is no longer a check on presidential power. And now Maduro has all of that at his disposal as he tries to put the results of this election behind him.

I asked people I talked to for this story, what is the value of this huge effort by the opposition to document the outcome of the election if it doesn't lead to political change? What does it mean to try and create the conditions for certainty about an electoral result and have that not carry the day? For some Venezuelans I talked to, it was simple.

I asked people I talked to for this story, what is the value of this huge effort by the opposition to document the outcome of the election if it doesn't lead to political change? What does it mean to try and create the conditions for certainty about an electoral result and have that not carry the day? For some Venezuelans I talked to, it was simple.

This effort showed that a majority of voters in this country want a change in government. And it showed the government pretending that's not true. What the opposition effort led to is a record. And from that record, a broad consensus about the election. Even among Venezuelans who may have very different ideas about the country's problems and solutions, its history, and its future.

This effort showed that a majority of voters in this country want a change in government. And it showed the government pretending that's not true. What the opposition effort led to is a record. And from that record, a broad consensus about the election. Even among Venezuelans who may have very different ideas about the country's problems and solutions, its history, and its future.

There is value in knowing whether the person who holds the most power in your country is there because a majority voted for him or in spite of the fact that a majority voted against him.

There is value in knowing whether the person who holds the most power in your country is there because a majority voted for him or in spite of the fact that a majority voted against him.