Did Diosdado Cabello say: “We will not show any records, we will never hand over power”?
Both statements could have been used by the representative of Uruguay to the OAS, Washington Abdala, in his intervention of September 11, 2024 before the regional forum. However, he took an alleged statement from Diosdado Cabello (minute 3:40 of the speech in Washington) of which there is no public record: “We won, that’s it. We’re not going to show the minutes here, nor will we allow an audit. I told you: we will never give up power.”
The quote Abdala refers to is an alleged newspaper headline that has been shared as a screenshot on various social networks, mainly TikTok, whose video has been replicated on X.
Did Diosdado Cabello declare that they would never hand over power?
It is true that until now no electoral records have been shown by the National Electoral Council for the results of July 28, nor have the post-event audits established in the electoral schedule been carried out, and of course there have been no signs that a transfer of power is approaching.
However, there is no evidence of this alleged statement by Diosdado Cabello, which is mentioned in accounts such as The Sapa of the Orinoco in X. It is also observed in TikTok accounts like that of @agabriel1without support from any audio or verifiable written document.
We searched for records of a recent statement by Cabello on the minutes of June 28 and only found some like this one (August 29):
«The Venezuelan opposition never had the electoral records of the presidential elections of July 28, so it deceived its followers (…) this sector of the country had the opportunity to take the supposed electoral records to the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) and they did not do so. Why did they not want to or why do they not have them (…) In Venezuela, electoral records have never been published».
But the phrase cited by the Uruguayan ambassador to the OAS does not exist, therefore It is false that Diosdado Cabello said it.