Venezuela coup attempt: Opposition says headquarters vandalised amid ongoing dispute over election

Foreign minister blames US after State Dept recognised Maria Corina Maduro's opponent Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner

CARACAS:

A major Venezuelan opposition movement on Friday said its headquarters had been vandalised amid ongoing tensions over a disputed presidential election, as the country's foreign minister said the US was at the forefront of what the government says is a coup attempt.

Vente Venezuela, the movement headed by Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, said that six hooded, unidentified men overpowered its security guards overnight, entering its Caracas headquarters, taking equipment and vandalizing the location.

"We denounce the attacks and insecurity to which we are subjected for political reasons," the movement said on social media.

Countries around the region, including Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, have called on Venezuela's government to release detailed voting tallies after the elections board declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of a third term.

Venezuela's Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said on Friday that the US is "at the forefront of a coup attempt" after the US State Department a day earlier recognised Maduro's opponent and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the election's winner.