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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claims Ecuador’s election was a ‘shameful fraud’ orchestrated by right-wing forces and US imperialism, warning of regional threats.

In a recent address, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro did not hold back in his criticism of far-right candidate Daniel Noboa’s reelection as Ecuador’s president, calling it an “outrageous and shameful fraud.”

According to Maduro, the electoral process was orchestrated by the right-wing organization Súmate—founded by conservative activist María Corina Machado—which he accused of receiving funding from “imperialist” forces.

During his speech at a meeting with candidates from the Great Patriotic Pole “Simón Bolívar,” the Venezuelan leader insisted that Ecuador’s situation reflects a campaign of “psychological warfare” and “electoral scams” carried out by what he described as a fascist right-wing movement.

President Maduro warned that such electoral fraud not only impacts Ecuador but also poses a significant geopolitical threat to Latin America and the world.

The Venezuelan president further claimed that Noboa’s rise and international recognition are part of a broader plan to reassert political and economic control over nations that have fought for independence. He invoked historical figures like Antonio José de Sucre, Simón Bolívar, and Manuela Sáenz as symbols of resistance against foreign domination.

President Maduro tied these developments to what he called an “imperialist hegemony,” specifically pointing to the United States as the main force behind these maneuvers. He argued that these actions aim to reverse the emergence of a multipolar world, issuing a stark warning about the implications for Latin American sovereignty.

President Maduro’s remarks come amid heightened political and economic tensions in the region, where elections and political movements frequently spark controversy and mutual accusations. His rhetoric not only defends his government against domestic and international criticism but also calls for Latin American unity against what he frames as a shared threat.

A Peruvian court on Tuesday sentenced ex-president Ollanta Humala and his wife to 15 years in prison for graft linked to a globe-spanning corruption scandal involving Brazilian construction group Odebrecht paying bribes to politicians.

The court found the 62-year-old and his wife Nadine Heredia guilty of money laundering for receiving illegal contributions from Odebrecht and the Venezuelan government in two presidential campaigns.

Humala was taken into custody in the courtroom after the ruling, and Judge Nayko Coronado ordered the arrest of Heredia, who did not attend the sentencing hearing.

Humala, a former army officer who led the country from 2011 to 2016, became in 2022 the first Peruvian ex-president to go on trial in the Odebrecht corruption scandal, which has also seen three other former presidents implicated.

Two-term leader Alan Garcia committed suicide in 2019 when police came to his house to arrest him, while Alejandro Toledo (in power from 2001-06) was sentenced last year to more than 20 years in prison for accepting multi-million-dollar bribes in exchange for government contracts.

Investigations continue into the fourth ex-president who was implicated, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (in office from 2016-2018).

Prosecutors had sought a 20-year prison term for Humala and 26 years for Heredia for accepting $3 million in illegal contributions for his 2011 campaign from Odebrecht.

The company is considered responsible for one of the biggest foreign bribery schemes in history.

Bribes for influence

The pair were also charged with illegally diverting about $200,000 sent by Venezuela's then-president Hugo Chavez for Humala's failed 2006 campaign, and Heredia with "concealment of real estate purchases" made with some of the money.

They have consistently denied all charges, and Humala's legal team said he would appeal the sentence.

In 2016, Odebrecht agreed to pay $3.5 billion in penalties in Brazil, the United States and Switzerland arising out of payments of more than $788 million in bribes to foreign leaders and government officials in order to win infrastructure projects.

The company admitted having paid at least $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials between 2005 and 2014.

Leftist Humala came to the presidency in 2011 after beating right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori in a runoff election.

Fujimori herself spent 16 months in pre-trial detention in a case linked to Odebrecht.