In a significant international rebuke, the United States and ten Latin American countries have firmly rejected the Venezuelan supreme court’s decision to certify Nicolás Maduro’s claim of re-election. This decision, announced on Thursday, has sparked widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum, with Chile’s leftwing president Gabriel Boric stating unequivocally, “I have no doubt this election has been stolen.”

The joint statement issued on Friday by Argentina, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and the United States, called for an “impartial and independent audit” of the disputed election. The group expressed deep concern over the human rights violations reported during Maduro’s post-election crackdown, which activists claim has led to over 1,600 detentions and at least 24 deaths.

The strong opposition to Maduro’s re-election extends beyond the expected conservative critics. Notably, it includes Chile’s progressive president Gabriel Boric and Guatemala’s center-left leader Bernardo Arévalo. Both leaders have vocally condemned Maduro, with Boric dismissing the Venezuelan regime as a dictatorship that falsifies elections. Arévalo echoed these sentiments on social media, asserting that Maduro’s government is not democratic and labeling the election results as fraudulent.

The United States has also criticized the Venezuelan court’s ruling, with state department spokesperson Vedant Patel denouncing it as lacking credibility. The US and its Latin American allies argue that the evidence suggests Maduro’s rival, Edmundo González, was the true winner of the July 28 election. Patel warned that continuing to falsely claim victory for Maduro would only deepen Venezuela’s ongoing crisis.

The European Union has also taken a firm stance, with its foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, declaring that the EU’s 27 member states would not recognize Maduro’s re-election without a verifiable result. This sentiment is shared by Brazil and Colombia, two countries with historical ties to Maduro’s political movement. Their leftwing leaders, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro, have withheld recognition of Maduro’s victory and are reportedly working on a joint statement to address the crisis.

Despite the mounting international pressure, Maduro and his allies have dismissed the criticism. Venezuela’s foreign minister, Yván Gil, went so far as to mock President Boric, calling him the “laughingstock” of Latin America and accusing him of being a “submissive pawn of North American imperialism.”

As it stands, Maduro, who maintains the support of Venezuela’s military and the governments of Russia and China, is set to be sworn in for a third six-year term on January 10. However, the international community’s refusal to recognize his re-election casts a long shadow over his presidency.