Maduro bans access to X in Venezuela for 10 days: Reason explained
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's X account (Getty Images)
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has announced a temporary 10-day ban on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) within the country. This decision comes amid ongoing protests by citizens against the election results, citing Reuters.
Maduro justified the decision by accusing the platform's owner, Elon Musk, of allegedly inciting hatred, civil war, and death.
"X, get out of Venezuela for 10 days!" Maduro said during a speech on state television.
The conflict between the Venezuelan president and Musk has been ongoing for several months, with both parties exchanging sharp remarks on social media and through the media.
Additionally, Maduro urged his supporters to stop using the messaging app WhatsApp in favor of Telegram or WeChat. He claimed that WhatsApp had been used to "threaten the families of soldiers and police officers."
Representatives of WhatsApp have not commented on the situation, and X's leadership has not responded to journalists' inquiries.
Maduro's victory in the presidential election on July 28 was announced with a 51% result. However, the country's citizens disagreed and began to protest. Meanwhile, Venezuela's electoral commission has yet to provide official voting results.
Venezuelan citizens are dissatisfied with Maduro's 10-year rule, during which he has established an authoritarian regime, led the country into economic collapse, and caused nearly 8 million people to emigrate. There are accusations of election fraud, and police officers are reportedly joining the protesters.
Meanwhile, the EU has not recognized the election results in Venezuela.
Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico are concerned about the situation and are negotiating with the Venezuelan government as well as the opposition.
Earlier, it was reported that Panama had proposed holding a summit of Latin American presidents to address the situation in Venezuela.
