Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and key opponent retired diplomat Edmundo González were locked in a standoff Monday with both claiming victory in the nation's presidential election.
National election officials were delaying releasing detailed vote tallies after proclaiming Maduro the winner with 51% of the vote, to 44% for González, the Associated Press reported.
The opposition refused to recognize the tally, and several foreign governments, including the U.S., held off recognizing the results, according to AP.
"Venezuelans and the entire world know what happened," González said.
American Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. had "serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people."
Chile's President Gabriel Boric warned: "The Maduro regime should understand that the results it published are difficult to believe."
Venezuelans showed up before dawn Sunday to vote in the presidential election that held the possibility of ending 25 years of socialist party rule — and potentially lead to a "bloodbath" depending on the results.
Reporters saw lines outside seven polling stations around the country, Reuters said, as two-term Maduro faced off against González, a former diplomat.
Earlier this month, Maduro warned of deadly consequences if he were to lose, telling supporters at a campaign rally that the country's destiny "depends on our victory."
"If we want to avoid a bloodbath, or a fratricidal civil war triggered by the fascists, then we must guarantee the biggest electoral victory ever," he said.
The remarks alarmed Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who vowed to send a top diplomat to monitor the voting.
On Sunday, Maduro walked back his comments, saying, "No one is going to create chaos in Venezuela," the Associated Press reported.
"I recognize and will recognize the electoral referee, the official announcements and I will make sure they are recognized," he said after casting his ballot.
Maduro also called on the other nine candidates "to respect, to make respected and to declare publicly that they will respect the official announcement" of the winner.
The country's opposition leader, former lawmaker Maria Corina Machado, won an October primary election to challenge Maduro but in January was barred from running by Venezuela's top court, which is reportedly loyal to Maduro's United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
The court upheld findings that Machado was involved in corruption and lost money for state-owned companies including the U.S.-based Citgo petroleum company, Reuters reported at the time.
Machado's hand-picked replacement was also barred from running, after which the opposition Unitary Platform coalition selected González.
Maduro has presided over an economic collapse that led about one-third of the population to flee Venezuela, and Machado invoked them after voting Sunday, telling those "who are anxious to return" that a "reunion in very close," AP said.
At a polling place in the state of Bolivar, 61-year-old Luisa Gonzalez told Reuters that she'd supported the late President Hugo Chavez, the country's first socialist leader, but had since soured on his successor, Maduro.
"I work cleaning houses and my four grandchildren depend on me. I earn just $15 per week and that is enough to eat one day but not the next," she said. "We have spent years look for change. I was a Chavista, but people have changed."
A voter in central Valencia state, however, said he hadn't given up on Maduro.
"There are things that without doubt need to improve in our country, but this government has lived through sanctions and blockades like no other. That's why I back President Maduro and think he deserves another chance," said Jose Lopez, 57.
