August 2, 2024 at 3:31 p.m. X owner Elon Musk on Wednesday appeared to threaten Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. on Thursday recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner of the South American country’s presidential election despite Venezuelan election officials announcing Maduro as the victor. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the determination was in response to “overwhelming evidence.” Musk took to X to share his reaction to video from Venezuela showing a gathering of armed soldiers. A caption included with the clip suggested the troops were preparing for Musk to attack them with “space lasers.” “I’m coming for you Maduro!” Musk wrote, adding emojis depicting a bomb and a rocket. “i will carry you to Gitmo on a donkey,” he added, referencing U.S. military prison Guantanamo Bay. The tongue-in-cheek remark comes amid intense political strife in Venezuela. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed the country is depending on international support in the wake of the election. “After this farce, spontaneous protests broke out, especially in poor sectors of Caracas and other cities. Mr. Maduro responded with brutal repression,” she wrote. “State security forces have killed at least 20 Venezuelans, imprisoned more than 1,000, and forced 11 disappearances.” “We Venezuelans have done our duty,” she added. “We have voted out Mr. Maduro. Now it is up to the international community to decide whether to tolerate a demonstrably illegitimate government.” The Venezuelan president reportedly responded by calling Musk a “murderer” and accused the tech entrepreneur of financing Venezuelan protests. “Whoever messes with me becomes withered,” Maduro added. Originally Published: