Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose claim to victory in the election has been widely disputed, is no friend of billionaire Elon Musk, and that feeling is clearly felt on both sides, and the war of words between them has escalated amid political crisis in Caracas.
Musk – who leads SpaceX and Tesla, and owns the social network X – is an ultra-capitalist who supports Donald Trump, which means he is everything the socialist Maduro despises.
But in recent days, Musk, the bus driver turned leader of oil-rich, cash-strapped Venezuela — whom he calls his “arch enemy” — has his eye on him.
Maduro has accused Musk of being behind “attacks against Venezuela” and possibly masterminding the alleged “computer hacking” at the National Electoral Council (CNE), which declared Maduro the winner of Sunday’s vote without providing detailed data.
Following a meeting of Maduro’s top political and military advisers on Tuesday, he announced the formation of a special committee with the assistance of Russian and Chinese experts to evaluate the attack on the country’s biosecurity and the CNE’s communications systems.
He said, “I am convinced that these attacks were directed by the power of Elon Musk.”
Opposition leaders and observers believe that there was no actual hacking, but that officials themselves sabotaged the system so that they would not have to release the actual election results.
Before voters cast their votes, Maduro, 61, was trailing far behind opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia in independent opinion polls.
Late Tuesday night, Maduro addressed hundreds of supporters from his balcony — and once again attacked Musk, 53.
“Venezuela, as I said yesterday and today, is facing domestic and international aggression from world powers, and it is now clear that Elon Musk is obsessed with the idea of taking over Venezuela and ruling it from abroad,” Maduro said.
“He is largely responsible for these attacks and aggressive acts,” he said, suggesting the existence of a “global coalition of the far right, the fascist right wing, drug traffickers, Elon Musk and the imperialist US government.”
“Whoever comes after Venezuela, we will wipe them out.”
– ‘Shame on dictator Maduro’ –
Musk has regularly criticized Maduro’s policies on export.
Asked about the criticisms, a senior Venezuelan foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “We know who Musk is. He is very right-wing and supports (Argentine President Javier) Miley… so we take all these comments as compliments.”
Ahead of Sunday’s election, Musk posted: “It’s time for the Venezuelan people to have a chance at a better future. Support Maria Corina!”
He was referring to the hugely popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running against Maduro.
Following the voting and announcement of the results, Musk said on Sunday: “Shame on dictator Maduro” and “This is so ridiculous.”
He also posted a 2020 announcement from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that filed criminal charges against Maduro for drug trafficking and offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
These posts sparked outrage against Maduro.
“He wants to come here with his guns and army to invade Venezuela. Elon Musk, good that you showed your face because we knew you were behind this! With your money and your satellites,” Maduro said.
“He wants to control the world, he already controls Argentina… You want to fight? Elon Musk, I’m ready. I’m the son of Bolivar and Chavez, I’m not afraid of you, Elon Musk… The people defeated Elon Musk’s bots, we defeated Elon Musk’s bots!”
Musk responded in Spanish: “A donkey knows more than Maduro.”
Later, the billionaire said: “I’m sorry for comparing that poor guy to Maduro. It was an insult to the animal kingdom.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
