Unable to vote in Sunday’s pivotal presidential election in Venezuela, Venezuelan exiles in the United States are nevertheless organizing to play a role by recruiting friends and family members to be part of an army of observers to help safeguard the vote in their home country. Helping to build this network of unofficial election observers, organized around what are being called — little command centers — from Miami and other U.S.
cities has had by necessity a clandestine feel, because participants in Venezuela will risk harassment and even arrest by security forces of the Nicolas Maduro regime. “This is risky work,” said a top organizer in Miami, who asked to remain anonymous because of his sensitive work in Venezuela. “We are trying to organize an election inside of a failed state, with areas controlled by leftist guerrillas as well as crime bosses allied to those heading the government, to compete against a regime whose security forces treat those challenging them in the election as if they were committing a crime against the state.
” As Maduro heads towards a crucial election that could put an end to his rule — he’s behind as much as 40 points in most respected polls — his security forces have redoubled efforts to clamp down on supporters of opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and of his mentor, opposition leader María Corina Machado. In the past few weeks security forces have arrested more than 100 volunteers from the Gonzalez campaign, freeing som.