Venezuela opposition leaders urge army and police to abandon Nicolás Maduro

Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado call on officials to join the side of the people' after Maduro enforces post-election crackdown

Venezuela's opposition leaders, who are widely believed to have beaten Nicolas Maduro in last week's disputed presidential election, have urged the police and armed forces to abandon the strongman leader and his despicable interests".

In an open letter to Venezuelan security forces, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado claimed they had won an avalanche" victory over Maduro in the 28 July vote - a conclusion supported by analyses of election data carried out by the Associated Press and the Washington Post and which a growing number of western governments have also reached.