Maduro security forces round up Venezuelans involved in protests in 'operation knock-knock'

President Nicolas Maduro speaks to supporters during a government rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Caracas, Venezuela — Venezuelan security forces are targeting those who they say committed violent crimes during recent protests over the disputed election, in an operation informally called "knock-knock" that advocacy groups say has left protesters fearful.

Three advocacy groups told Reuters security forces are working intensely to capture protesters, including minors, who they said are not being provided with lawyers and who have in some cases been charged with terrorism.

President Nicolas Maduro and other officials have touted "knock-knock" as a means of targeting those behind violence at the protests, who they have described as "fascist criminals."

"Operation knock-knock is the name given by certain government spokespeople, informally, to the escalating repression," said Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of legal advocacy group Foro Penal.

"It's called knock-knock because that's the bang on the door you get in the early hours of the morning," he said.

Venezuela's electoral authority, who the opposition says favours the ruling socialists, has proclaimed Maduro the winner in the July 28 vote, saying he was reelected with around 51 per cent of the vote, beating opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.

The opposition says its own detailed tally shows Gonzalez likely received 67 per cent of the vote, winning by a margin of nearly four million votes, and earning more than double Maduro's support, a result in line with independent exit polls.

That triggered angry protests from Venezuelans across the country over the last week, demanding that Maduro step down and a Gonzalez win be honoured. Smaller protests have backed Maduro.

Russia and China - among others - have congratulated Maduro as the election winner, but most Western countries have demurred, calling for the full release of voting results.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week there was "overwhelming evidence" of the victory of Gonzalez and that Washington recognized him as the winner of Sunday's election.

In answer to a question on Monday as to whether the U.S. was ready to recognize an interim president the way it did in 2019 with Juan Guaido, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: "That's not a step that we are taking today."

Venezuela's next presidential term is due to start in January 2025.

Maduro told supporters on Saturday that some 2,000 people had been arrested during the protests. U.S.-based Human Rights Watch has reported at least 20 people have been killed.

Foro Penal said on Monday that it has confirmed 1,010 arrests.

In a joint letter signed on Monday, Gonzalez and popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado wrote: "We are appealing to the conscience of the military and the police and asking them to stand at the side of the people and of their own families."

But the military has long been loyal to Maduro.

"I'm willing to do anything and I am counting on you to ensure order prevails," Maduro told them in a broadcast on state television on Sunday.

Venezuela's government is taking a hardline approach, moving quickly, to make sure it holds on to power, advocacy groups said.

"Staying in power means neutralizing and crushing social discontent," said Oscar Murillo, coordinator for local rights group Provea.

The attorney general's office has denied those arrested were protesters, instead labelling them as violent criminals behind acts of vandalism, including tearing down statues of late president Hugo Chavez, Maduro's mentor.

Two members of the military have been killed, according to Venezuelan authorities.

(Reporting by Tibisay Romero, Mircely Guanipa and Vivian SequeraAdditional reporting by Simon Lewis in WashingtonWriting by Oliver GriffinEditing by Christian Plumb and Rosalba O'Brien)