Maduro accused of 'campaign of terror' against opponents

Venezuela's main opposition leader, María Corina Machado, has accused its strongman president, Nicolás Maduro, of unleashing a horrific "campaign of terror" in an attempt to cling on to power.

- Tom Phillips

Two weeks after Maduro's widely questioned claim to have won the 28 July election, human rights activists say he has launched a ferocious clampdown designed to silence those convinced that his rival, Edmundo González, was the actual winner.

More than 1,300 people have been detained, including 116 teenagers, according to the rights group Foro Penal. At least 24 people have reportedly been killed."

Speaking from an undisclosed location where she is in hiding, Machado a charismatic conservative and key González backer - urged the international community to oppose Maduro's intensifying crackdown.

"What is going on in Venezuela is horrific. Innocent people are being detained or disappeared as we speak," said the 56-year-old former congresswoman, who endorsed González after authorities barred her from running.

Maduro's regime has nicknamed part of its clampdown Operación Tuntun (Operation Knock Knock), a chilling reference to the often latenight visits perceived government opponents have been getting from heavily armed captors from the intelligence services or police.