Maduro says Elon Musk paid “no less than a billion dollars” for a coup against him

The president Nicolás Maduro continues to criticize the tycoon Elon Musk in his speeches. Since the highly controversial presidential elections on July 28th in Venezuela, both have engaged in a back-and-forth through social media, even challenging each other to a fight.

In his most recent statements against the billionaire, Maduro claimed that he paid "no less than a billion dollars" for a coup against him.

"Elon Musk, I know what I'm saying, I say it with knowledge and I believe I fall short, Elon Musk invested in the coup, in the fascist outbreak, in the violence against the electoral process in Venezuela, no less than a billion dollars," Maduro said during Monday night on a weekly television program called 'Con Maduro +' that is broadcasted in this country.

Nicolás Maduro's attack against Elon Musk with X

After the back and forth with Elon Musk on August 8th, Nicolás Maduro ordered the suspension of social network X in Venezuela. The next day, this platform stopped being visible in the country, which many considered to be a form of censorship to hide all the complaints made against his administration through this channel.

At that time, the leader (whom various sectors classify as a dictator because to date, he has not presented the voting records of the elections) stated that the suspension of X was for 10 days, but the measure remains in effect to this day, with no set date for the restoration of this platform.

Freddy Ñáñez, Maduro's communication minister, stated on August 19th that in order to lift the suspension of X, this company must submit its documents in Venezuela and appoint a representative who will be responsible in this country.

“We are still waiting for them to take responsibility,” said the minister, who specified that X has 2.7 million users in Venezuela, while TikTok and Instagram have between 7.9 million and eight million. He also highlighted that these days of suspension have shown that “people can live without X,” a social network he described as a tool for “digital ghosts.”