Venezuela recalls parliament to deliberate over anti-discrimination and anti-extremist legislations.

Rewritten Article:

Hustle and Bustle in Caracas, Venezuela, August 13, 2024 (Our Website) - Following the July 28 election, controversy has erupted, with Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez announcing the suspension of the parliamentary recess to tackle a collection of bills requested by President Nicolás Maduro. These bills are aimed at stifling hate speech and far-right ideologies.

In a bold declaration, Rodríguez stated, "We've decided to halt the parliamentary recess ... to endorse a suite of laws that the president has requested to protect our populace from vitriolic speech, terror, and the propagation of fascist ideas on social networks."

Maduro's response to the unrest has been swift. He announced the formation of a commission against fascism, hatred, and violence, after a cabinet meeting in Caracas on Monday. The commission is tasked with investigating the involvement of social networks and the media in stirring up societal unrest and justifying coups d'état, interventions, and destabilization.

The turmoil following the election, which opposition leaders have claimed were fraudulent, has sparked heated debates online, along with reports of threats. Maduro instructed the temporary suspension of X, formerly Twitter, and requested that Venezuelans delete WhatsApp messaging service.

In the wake of the election, Venezuela has been under digital attack. Venezuelan Minister for Science and Technology Gabriela Jiménez reported that 25 institutions, ranging from the National Electoral Council to universities and media, have been targeted in cyberattacks since July 28. The majority of these attacks were Denial of Service (DDoS), with others involving BGP hijacking.

Jiménez confirmed that on the weekend, there were IP hijacking incidents with Cantv, the state-run telephone and internet service provider. "Users attempting to link with any of the services are redirected to a completely different portal, and the servers subsequently collapse," she stated in Monday's meeting.

In response to these digital threats, Maduro has signed a presidential decree for the creation of the National Cybersecurity Council. This council will address cyberattacks institutionally.

Amidst all this, the Head of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso, claims that the electoral authority was a target of a hacking operation that affected vote-tallying and publishing operations. However, the CNE has not made any results public, but has handed over its records to the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ). Technology experts have called for a detailed explanation of the cyberattacks as the electoral data transmission system is designed to be offline and encrypted.

The fate of the election outcome now lies with the TSJ, which has launched an investigation following Maduro's request to review and validate the results. Representatives from various political parties and presidential candidates have appeared before the Electoral Chamber to testify and submit voting records.

Surprisingly, González, the opposition candidate who claims to have proof of his victory, has ignored the court's order to hand over the physical records in his campaign team's possession. Supreme Court President Caryslia Rodríguez expressed her displeasure, stating, "González failed to attend the court summons, showing disrespect for the highest court and neglecting the delivery of the tally sheets or any other material."

Rodríguez announced that court-appointed analysts will now review both the electoral data and cyberattack evidence. She emphasized that the court's ruling on the matter would be definitive.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

Enrichment Data Insights:- The CLFS zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-29824) was exploited against Venezuela's financial sector in early April 2025 by the Storm-2460 group, leading to ransomware attacks. Microsoft released patches for this vulnerability on April 8, 2025.- Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report shows a 34% surge in vulnerability exploitation globally, with credential abuse and third-party breaches dominating attack vectors. These trends align with the observed CLFS exploit. However, election-related cyberattacks or post-July 28 investigations are not detailed in the available data.

Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, following the July 28 election, announced the suspension of the parliamentary recess to tackle a collection of bills requested by President Nicolás Maduro, aimed at stifling hate speech and far-right ideologies, a move that has sparked heated debates in the realm of politics and general news.
The disturbances following the election have seen Maduro's administration take a proactive stance against hate speech and violent propaganda, forming a commission to investigate the involvement of social networks and media in stirring up societal unrest and justifying coups d'état, interventions, and destabilization, as part of their war-and-conflicts policy-and-legislation.
In response to the digital threats, Maduro has heeded the advice of technology experts and signed a presidential decree for the creation of the National Cybersecurity Council, a move aimed at addressing cyberattacks institutionally and improving the country's cybersecurity measures.
The gravity of the cyberattacks against Venezuelan institutions, including the National Electoral Council and universities, has led to concerns about crime-and-justice, with technology experts calling for a detailed explanation of the cyberattacks on the electoral data transmission system.
Meanwhile, the commission against fascism, hatred, and violence has been tasked with the dissemination of information regarding the involvement of social networks and media in propagating extremist ideologies, a move aimed at fostering a healthier discourse in Venezuelan politics and society at large.