Volunteers from the commandos went from defending the vote to being persecuted

Its members were in charge of logistical tasks such as transporting citizens to the voting centers or bringing food to witnesses during the day.

After the protests over the proclamation of Nicolás Maduro for a third consecutive term (2025-2031), which left 27 dead and more than 2,400 detained, the president himself described them as “criminals”, linking them to acts of violence and an attempt to “coup d’état.”

Fearful of being accused of terrorism, which can lead to the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison in Venezuela, José, a member of the commandos, left public political activity after the military pointed their weapons at him and unknown people threatened him in the street.

He hides his real name in the face of a “wave of persecution” against members of these almost 70,000 community networks.

The opposition claims that thanks to the commandos they gathered 80% of the voting records, which they published on a website, with which they claim a victory for the candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, exiled in Spain after an arrest warrant against him. Maduro hinted that Machado also left the country, a scenario the economic leader mentioned in a television interview on Wednesday.

The electoral authority, which gave the winner to the socialist ruler, has not published a detailed count, as required by law.

José relates that six motorcyclists surrounded him one early morning when he was leaving the voting center in a popular sector of Caracas where he served as an “observer” for the opposition.

«They told me: ‘you go for it with a vengeance (brave). “We saw you leaving the voting center,” This 61-year-old man tells AFP.

He avoided confronting them, since he had three minutes printed by the machines of the automated system of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and he had to scan them to send them to Machado’s campaign command, which digitized them and then uploaded them to the internet.

“I’m still afraid,” says one of the members of the commandos

José delivered the minutes on July 31, the day Machado called to protest at the UN headquarters in Caracas with those documents in hand. The leader himself received many ballots directly.

The man says that, at the end of the rally, a group of soldiers detained several protesters. Two uniformed officers approached him and pointed their tear gas weapons directly at him, without saying a word, although in the end they let him go.

“That’s where I said: ‘no, I have to go'”he expresses.

Their fears grew when Maduro called on citizens to report anyone they saw carrying out “guarimbas” (violent protests). He was hidden for two weeks.

Now, José avoids speaking publicly about politics and meets virtually. “I’m still afraid,” he laments.

The government claims that the opposition “forged” the minutes that appear on the website. José denies it: “I marked them, I know how I marked them and that’s how they appear on the page.”

“We watch”

The ‘comanditos’ were key during the opposition campaign and on voting day.

“My commando supported food logistics, both for opposition and ruling party witnesses,” said an 86-year-old activist who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Another, who also asked to protect her identity, says that after the mass arrests began, even in the place of residence of those arrested, what she does is go from “her home to work and from work to home.”

“I don’t want to go out because I feel like they are chasing us, watching us, and my children ask me not to continue, to take care of myself, that there is nothing more that can be done,” declared this woman.

Some members of the commandos fled the country, according to several people consulted by AFP. Others had their passports cancelled.

Although the protests have diminished, Machado assures that some commanders are regrouping and promises that Gonzalez Urrutia He will return to Venezuela to take office on January 10, as appropriate.

“I know we are going to make it,” José says, convinced.