Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced a temporary ban on X (formerly Twitter) in the country. The decision followed his war of words with the platform’s CEO, Elon Musk, who has accused Maduro of election fraud.
In a televised speech on Thursday, Maduro accused the tech mogul of “inciting hatred, fascism, civil war, death, [and] confrontation of Venezuelans,” as well as violating national laws. The leader added that he has signed a resolution presented by the National Commission of Telecommunications to ban the social media platform for ten days.
“Let the plans on social networks to spread violence, hatred... [in] Venezuela from abroad end,” Maduro wrote in a separate post on X.
In response, Musk took to the platform to mockingly promise to “singe his [Maduro’s] mustache from space.”
The spat between the Venezuelan leader and the billionaire started in the wake of the country’s presidential election last month, in which Maduro was declared the winner. According to the country’s electoral council, Maduro won about 52% of the vote, while opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received 43%.
The opposition disputed the results, arguing that they didn’t match their own tallies, while their backers, including the US, refused to recognize Maduro’s victory. However, other countries such as China and Russia have congratulated the Venezuelan leader on his reelection.
Musk has supported the criticism of Maduro, calling him a “dictator” and accusing him of “major election fraud.” “The people of Venezuela have had enough of this clown,” he added, voicing support for the opposition. The jab drew a sharp response from the Venezuelan president, who blasted the tycoon for allegedly trying to stage a coup and challenged him to a fistfight – a suggestion Musk accepted.
The temporary ban on X comes after Maduro claimed to have deleted his WhatsApp messenger from his phone, saying it was being used to threaten Venezuela and spy on its people. He also claimed that TikTok and Instagram were being used to promote “hate” and promised to regulate their use.
Maduro will be serving a third consecutive six-year term, after first taking office in 2013 following the death of President Hugo Chavez. Maduro’s previous reelection, in 2018, was also rejected by the US, along with the EU and several Latin American states.