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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element" dir="ltr"> <font
size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14807">https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14807</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Venezuela: Nearly 50,000 Voting
Machines Burnt in ‘Terrorist Attack’</h1>
<div class="credits reader-credits">By Paul Dobson - March 9,
2020<br>
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<p>Mérida, March 9, 2020 (<a
href="http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/">venezuelanalysis.com</a>)
– An unknown militant group has claimed
responsibility for a blaze which destroyed
99 percent of Venezuela’s electoral machines
on Saturday.</p>
<p>In a <a
href="https://twitter.com/BrennerABarrios/status/1236522915736309761">video
message</a> published on Twitter on
Sunday, seven masked men calling themselves
the Venezuelan Patriotic Front stated that
the attack formed part of “Operation Sodom,”
a reference to the<a
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodom_and_Gomorrah">
biblical tale</a> of the city destroyed by
“divine judgement” on the Jordan River.</p>
<p>The group goes on to justify the arson by
alleging that electoral authorities have
“violated the people’s rights through
fraudulent elections.” In the same message,
it also claimed responsibility for a fire
last month at a state-run CANTV
telecommunications center used in elections
in Valencia, Carabobo State.</p>
<p>While the origins and connections of the
group remain unclear, its video message
pledged further actions against government
supporters and leaders, which it defined as
being “military targets,” as well as issuing
warnings about “what may occur” at the
upcoming opposition march on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Speaking Monday, National Constituent
Assembly President Diosdado Cabello
condemned the fire as a “terrorist attack.”
Opposition leaders are yet to comment.</p>
<p>Another hard-right militant opposition
group called the T-Shirt Soldiers endorsed
the Patriotic Front’s actions and claimed
they “were not finished.” The T-Shirt
Soldiers claimed responsibility for the
August 2018 <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13976">C4-carrying
drone assassination attempt against
President Maduro</a>.</p>
<p>According to the National Electoral Council
(CNE), a massive fire on Saturday at the
storage facility in the Filas de Mariche
district on the outskirts of Caracas
destroyed 49,408 electronic voting machines,
582 computers, 400 electronic ballot cards,
49,232 fingerprint identification machines
and 22,434 power inverters. Only 562 voting
machines and 724 fingerprint identification
machines could be saved. All voting machines
and other instruments are kept at the
warehouse under military and civilian
supervision between electoral processes.</p>
<p>The blaze caused no human injuries, but
devastated the 1500 m2 facility, according
to the reports of the 570 firefighters who
tackled the fire.</p>
<p>Addressing the press on Sunday, CNE
President Tibisay Lucena told the country
that two national prosecutors have been
assigned to investigate the fire, and that
“no hypotheses have been ruled out.”</p>
<div>
<blockquote>
<p><a
href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9Mar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9Mar</a>
Mas de 500 efectivos de nuestros
Organismos de Seguridad Ciudadana y del
Cuerpo de <a
href="https://twitter.com/bomberos_dc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bomberos_dc</a>
y <a
href="https://twitter.com/PCivil_Ve?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PCivil_Ve</a>
se encuentran desplegados atendiendo el
incendio en su fase libre de combustión
en un galpón aproximadamente de 1500M2
perteneciente al Consejo Nacional
Electoral. <a
href="https://t.co/Am0Goj9pVH">pic.twitter.com/Am0Goj9pVH</a></p>
<p>— Bomberos DC (@bomberos_dc) <a
href="https://twitter.com/bomberos_dc/status/1236998935564222466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March
9, 2020</a></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p>The voting machines were originally
produced by the multinational company
Smartmatic. The CNE ended a maintenance and
repair contract with the company in 2017
following its “baseless”<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13279">
claims</a> of fraud at the July 2017
National Constituent Assembly elections. The
electoral body has not updated its machine
stockpile since nor signed a new
manufacturing contract, and a wide-reaching<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14615"> US embargo</a> announced
in 2018 threatens any foreign firm which
engages with the organisation with
sanctions.</p>
<p>The CNE has overseen 24 electoral contests
since 1998, with National Assembly (AN)
elections scheduled for 2020, with a date
yet to be set. Lucena also took the
opportunity to calm fears that this year’s
elections would be affected.</p>
<p>“If there are small groups which think that
this will end our constitutionally
established electoral processes, they are
very wrong,” she said. “We have the
capacity, the legal know-how, the operative
and logistical technology, 17 years of
experience, and the human talent [to]
guarantee the electoral processes in
Venezuela as we know them: fast, transparent
and trustworthy,” she went on.</p>
<p>Venezuela’s combined electronic and paper
electoral system has been<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/13849">
described</a> as one of the most secure
and transparent in the world by independent<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/video/13878"> international observers</a>.
Nonetheless, discussions aimed at applying
further consensual safeguards, as well as
renovating the CNE leadership, have been
part of a <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14657">dialogue</a>
agenda between the government and a host of
smaller opposition parties.</p>
<p>The efforts were boosted after a dissident
opposition group wrested control of the <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14755">National Assembly</a>
from former AN President Juan Guaido in
January and backed the ongoing dialogue
process as well as the renewal of electoral
authorities.</p>
<p>Guaido has already ruled out taking his
hard-right Popular Will party to the vote
later this year, a position which has been
backed by Washington. Other Guaido-aligned
opposition parties, however, are still to
announce whether they will participate, with
Democratic Action party hinting that it
will.</p>
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