Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Elon Musk battle online

Caracas:

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whose claim of victory at the polls has been widely contested, is no friend of billionaire Elon Musk, and the feeling is clearly mutual, with their war of words escalating amid the political crisis in Caracas.

Musk – who leads SpaceX and Tesla, and owns the social network X – is an ultracapitalist who supports Donald Trump, which means he is everything the socialist Maduro despises.

But in recent days, the bus driver turned leader of oil-rich, cash-poor Venezuela has had Musk – whom he calls his “arch enemy” – in his sights.

Maduro accused Musk of being behind “attacks against Venezuela” and possibly being the mastermind of alleged “computer hacking” at the National Electoral Council (CNE), which declared Maduro the winner of Sunday’s vote without providing detailed data.

On Tuesday, after a meeting of Maduro’s main political and military advisors, he announced the creation of a special committee, assisted by Russian and Chinese experts, to assess the country’s biosecurity and an attack on the CNE’s communications systems.

“The attacks, I’m sure, were directed by the power of Elon Musk,” he said.

Opposition figures and observers do not believe there was actually a hack, but that authorities self-sabotaged the system so as not to have to provide actual election results.

Before voters cast their ballots, Maduro, 61, was well behind opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in independent opinion polls.

On Tuesday night, Maduro addressed hundreds of supporters from his balcony – and once again attacked 53-year-old Musk.

“Venezuela, as I said yesterday and today, faces internal and international aggression from world powers, and it is now clear that Elon Musk is obsessed with the idea of ​​taking control of Venezuela and governing it from abroad,” said Maduro.

“He is largely responsible for these attacks and acts of aggression,” he added, suggesting the existence of a “global alliance of the extreme right, the fascist extreme right, drug traffickers, Elon Musk and the US imperialist government.”

“Anyone who comes after Venezuela, we will eliminate them.”

– ‘Shame on the dictator Maduro’ –
Musk has regularly criticized Maduro’s policies on X.

When asked about the criticism, a senior Venezuelan Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity: “We know who Musk is. He is on the far right and supports (Argentine President Javier) Milei… So we consider all these remarks as compliments.”

Before Sunday’s election, Musk posted: “It’s time for the people of Venezuela to have a chance at a better future. Support Maria Corina!”

He was referring to popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running against Maduro.

After the vote and the announcement of the results, Musk said on Sunday: “Shame on the dictator Maduro” and “What a farce”.

He also published a 2020 announcement from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration about criminal charges against Maduro for drug trafficking and a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

The posts provoked outrage from Maduro.

“He wants to come here with his weapons and an army to invade Venezuela. Elon Musk, it’s good that you showed your face because we knew you were behind everything! With your money and your satellites,” said Maduro.

“He wants to control the world, he already controls Argentina… Do you want to fight? Elon Musk, I’m ready. I’m the son of Bolívar and Chávez, I’m not afraid of you, Elon Musk… The people defeated Elon Musk’s bots , we defeated Elon Musk’s bots!”

Musk’s response came in Spanish: “An idiot knows more than Maduro”.

The billionaire later added: “I regret comparing the poor guy to Maduro. This was an insult to the animal kingdom.”

(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)