The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 29th, 2024: Venezuela's Fraudulent Election & War Looms With Hezbollah

Episode Date: July 29, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    In a controversial presidential election suspected to be rife with fraud, Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro claimed victory over the opposition, despite exit polling suggesting Maduro lost by as many as 4.5 million votes. Israel has vowed retaliation in the wake of the deadly Hezbollah rocket strike over the weekend that killed at least 12 children and teens at a soccer field in the Golan Heights. We’ll have the latest on the deliberations of Israel’s security cabinet and international concerns about a wider regional war. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro claimed victory. Well, would you look at that over the opposition, despite exit polling, suggesting that Maduro lost by as many as four and a half million votes. Yeah, but who's counting? Well, apparently Maduro is. Also, Israel has vowed retaliation in the wake of the deadly Hezbollah rocket strike over the weekend that killed at least 12 children and teens at a soccer field in the Golan Heights. We'll have the latest on the deliberations of Israel's security cabinet as international concerns mount about a wider regional war.

But first, our afternoon spotlight, Venezuelan voters, hoping for a transformative election away from the nation's corrupt legacy of brutal dictators, well, they were dealt a blow over the weekend, as the ruling party, somehow, how did they do it, clung to power in a highly controversial presidential election. Both Venezuelan strongman Nicholas Maduro and opposition rival Edmundo Gonzalez claimed victory in the country's presidential election on Monday, as foreign officials cast doubt on the government's tally. Officially, the National Electoral Authority announced just after midnight that Maduro had won a third term with 51% of the vote, claiming Gonzalez only netted 44%, according to our report from Reuters. Now, if the results stand, it will extend a quarter century of socialist rule in the oil-rich nation. Maduro was quick to declare victory, laughably claiming that it was a, quote, triumph of the ideals of equality. Actually, that's not true. What he said was it was a triumph of the ideals of rigging an election.

No, no, wait, it was the first quote that was his. Widespread fraud is suspected. Really? As exit polling predicated a landslide victory for the, The opposition, and would you look at that, the old switcheroo happened. We should also note that while the National Electoral Authority claims independence, it has long-faced criticism for acting as an arm of the Maduro regime. Opposition leader Maria Corino-Mocado, who herself had been barred from seeking office,

said Gonzalez won 70% of the vote. Now exit polling, released by Edison Research, which conducts election polling in the U.S. and other countries, said Gonzalez, the opposition, captured 65% percent. of the vote, while Maduro only managed 31%. The head of Edison Research said his firm stands by their results, telling Reuters that, quote, the official results, meaning the government results, are silly. If really, that's how you describe massive vote fraud done to keep a hardline socialist dictator in power? You use the word silly? The opposition also has access to what's called a quick count, which is a tabulation of large samples from voting stations that is considered

highly accurate. Now, this analysis showed that Gonzalez, the opposition, received some 8.5 million votes, and that's roughly 4.5 million more than Maduro, according to our report from the Wall Street Journal. It's also worth remembering that Maduro had trailed Gonzalez in polls for weeks by as much as 25 percent. What a magical last-minute turnaround. Gonzalez defiantly stated, quote, we won't rest until the will of the people of Venezuela is respected. Now, it's unclear what the path forward is for the opposition, which will likely have to rely on the international community. Oh, well, good luck with that. Given the outcome, the U.S. will be unable to resume normal diplomatic relations with Venezuela or fully lift economic sanctions

leveled against the Maduro regime for human rights abuses. This will likely prolong the dire economic crisis facing Venezuela, which has caused roughly a third of the population to flee the country in recent years. Despite the outcome, Gonzalez is urging his supporters not to take to the streets or commit any violent acts. His posture, of course, stands in stark contrast to Maduro, who just last week, facing terrible polling numbers, warned that Venezuela would face a, quote, bloodbath and, quote, civil war if he lost the election. It appears Gonzalez's supporters got the message, as the Associated Press reported Monday that Venezuela's capital of Caracas was eerily calm the day following the election. Well, that could be because Maduro has all the guns.

Meanwhile, foreign officials chimed in regarding the widespread allegations of corruption. The results were a particular blow to the Biden administration, which had offered sanctions relief late last year to the Maduro regime in exchange for promises of democratic electoral guarantees. Now, as you might guess, Maduro's promises were largely empty as he continued to make concerted effort to steer the election in his favor, whether through bureaucratic manipulations or threats of violence. In recent weeks, his regime had arrested dozens of opposition campaign workers while barring millions of voting age Venezuelans living abroad from casting a ballot. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the White House had, quote, serious concerns,

really, that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people. Oh, well, thanks for that. Look, offering sanctions relief in exchange for being more democratic is apparently sort of the signature move for the Biden administration. I'm looking at you, Tehran. Elsewhere, Argentine President Javier Miele called the election results a fraud. Leaders in Costa Rica and Peru also rejected the results outright, while Brazilian officials said they would not accept a result that they can't independently verify. But it was not all denunciations on the international stage. This will shock you. The usual sudden. including Russia, Cuba, Honduras, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, all praised Maduro's alleged victory.

Cuba commended Maduro on defeating the, quote, pro-imperialist opposition, while Russian despot Vladimir Putin said, quote, you are always a welcome guest on Russian soil. That Putin, he's so magnanimous. Of course, in today's world, I guess that dictators need to stick together. All right, coming up after the break, Israel has vowed retaliation in the wake of the deadly Hezbollah rocket strike over the weekend that killed at least 12 children and teens at a soccer field in the Golan Heights. We'll have the latest on the deliberations of Israel's security cabinet when we come back. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money, whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings. There's a money side to every story.

Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. In the wake of a deadly rocket strike on Saturday in the Israeli-occupied Golon Heights town of Majdal-Shams, Israel is poised to launch a calculated response against Hasbullah. As the region braces for repercussions, Israeli officials emphasize their intent to punish the terrorist group without igniting a full-scale war in the Middle East. As we discussed on this morning's PDB, a suspected Hasbullah rocket strike on Saturday killed 12 children and teenagers in Israel's Druze community, and that's a minority group historically caught in the crossfire of regional conflicts. The incident has led to heightened tensions between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese

terror group, Hasbullah, which, in an unusual move, denied responsibility for the attack. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken indicated Monday, however, that all evidence points to Hasbullah. Now, of course, that evidence being that it was an Iranian-made rocket fired from Lebanon, home of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group, which has routinely been firing rockets into Israel for months now. In some circles, we would call those clues. On Sunday, Prime Minister Netanyahu cut short his trip to the U.S. and returned to Israel to convene the security cabinet. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yov Ghalant were authorized on late Sunday by the cabinet to determine the timing and nature of the response to the deadly attack.

Options under consideration include attacks on Hezbollah's infrastructure, and arms depots or targeting its commanders. Now, is it just me? Or does the Iranian regime in the IRGC always seem to get a free pass when it comes to the terrible actions of their proxies in the region? I mean, honestly, look, if the Iranian regime told their proxies, including Hezbollah, that it was somehow a new day and that they now recognized Israel's right to exist, well, we could actually have peace in the Middle East. Of course, I believe the phrase is, hell will freeze over before the genocidal despots running the Iranian regime will reverse course on their stated objective to destroy Israel. Netanyahu vowed that Israel's response would be, quote,

harsh reflecting the gravity of the situation. Israeli minister of foreign affairs, Israel Katz, also warned his country as, quote, approaching the moment of an all-out war against Hezbollah and Lebanon. On Monday, Israeli defense forces launched drone strikes on weapon stockpiles and terrorist infrastructure, killing two Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon, marking the first fatalities since Saturday's incident. Additionally, Israeli air defenses down to drone that crossed into Western Galilee from Lebanon in response to the potential for Israeli retaliation, flights at Beirut's International Airport in Lebanon have been canceled or delayed. Now, Iran has condemned Israel's actions. Now, I know, no sense of self-awareness or irony there. Warning that any new military operations in

Lebanon could lead to broader regional instability and unforeseen consequences. Iranian President-elect Masoud Pazchekin promised on Monday severe repercussions if Israel moves forward with an operation in Lebanon. Now, the sad irony of Pazegyin and the Iranian leaders condemning violence and denouncing instability is laughable if it weren't so depressing and moronic. The international community, including the U.S. and the EU, have expressed concerns, of course, over escalation, urging restraint from all parties to avoid further conflict. The White House National Security Council is in discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts

to find a diplomatic solution. We should note, the situation adds urgency to ongoing ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with U.S. Egyptian and Qatari officials meeting in Rome to push for an agreement. As a reminder, Hasbullah has claimed its attacks on Israel are in solidarity with their Palestinian brothers in Gaza, and that they will stop if a ceasefire is reached. The cross-border violence, which has been ongoing since shortly after the 7-October Hamas attacks, has displaced tens of thousands on both sides. Hezbollah has reiterated that it did not fire the rocket that killed the children and teenagers on Saturday, but admitted to a missile strike against a military target in the Golan Heights.

So what Hezbollah is saying is that it must have been some other, Iranian-funded and resourced terrorist organization operating in southern Lebanon with the ability to launch rockets into Israel. Okay, good to know. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Monday, 29 July. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And, as you may have heard from what the Hep Kids call, I believe, the word on the street, You can now listen to the show Ad-Free by becoming a premium member of the president's daily brief. It's very simple. Just visit PDB Premium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow.

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