Add Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to the growing list of foreign leaders with whom tech billionaire Elon Musk has fallen out.
Following the results of Venezuela’s presidential election, in which Maduro and his opponents claimed victory, the owner of X took to the social media platform to accuse the self-proclaimed socialist leader of “major election fraud.”
“Shame on the dictator Maduro” Musk he said Monday.
Maduro, in turn, criticized Musk as “the archenemy of Venezuelan peace.”
Officials delayed releasing detailed vote counts from Sunday’s election after proclaiming Ripe the winner with 51% of the votes, compared to 44% for retired diplomat Edmundo González. Competing claims set up a high risk confrontation.
After failing to topple Maduro during three rounds of protests since 2014, the opposition put its faith in the ballot box. The elections were among the most peaceful in recent memory, reflecting hopes that Venezuela can avoid bloodshed and end 25 years of single-party rule.
Musk also retweeted a comment about for his “friend” of the Argentine president Javier Milei. “The figures announced an overwhelming opposition for victory and the world is waiting for the government to recognize defeat after years of socialism, misery, decadence and death,” said Milei.
Maduro quickly responded to Musk’s posts on social media, calling the billionaire a threat to Venezuela.
“He is the representation of the fascist, unnatural, anti-society ideology,” Maduro said.
“Elon Musk is desperate, control yourself,” he warned. “Whoever messes with me goes dry.”
This is not Musk’s first run-in with foreign governments. Earlier this year, the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” collided with a judge of the supreme court of brazil for freedom of expression, far-right accounts and alleged misinformation on X, formerly Twitter. Musk bought Twitter in 2022changing many of the social platform’s policies and laying off most of its workforce.
Regarding Venezuela’s elections, leaders around the world also expressed concern about the results, with many calling transparency in vote counting.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
