© AP Photo/Ariana CubillosGovernment "Chavista" supporters burn an election poster of opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles in Los Teques, on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, April 16, 2013. President-elect Nicolas Maduro is blaming Capriles for seven deaths that the government says occurred in post-election unrest. The government has provided names of some people it says have been killed by opposition activists but has provided no evidence. Capriles is demanding a vote-by-vote recount of Sunday's presidential election.
Maduro accused the U.S. of fomenting the violence, which appeared less serious than he suggested, while opposition candidate Henrique Capriles accused him of creating a smoke screen to divert attention from the opposition's insistence on a vote-by-vote recount of Sunday's surprisingly close vote.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department backed that demand, saying it would not recognize Maduro without a recount. It was joined by the governments of Panama and Paraguay.
Maduro, the chosen heir of the late Hugo Chavez, spent the day on state TV at various events demonizing Capriles as "a murderer" and coup plotter. He also heaped blame on Washington - always a popular target of Chavez, the leader Maduro served as foreign minister for six years.
