CARACAS – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, facing mounting pressure to offer evidence his election victory was valid, said Wednesday that opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia should be imprisoned following deadly protests across the country.

“They should be behind bars,” the leader told reporters.

The opposition, which claims its candidate Gonzalez Urrutia was the rightful victor, said 16 people were killed in protests that erupted after Sunday’s election in the Latin American country.

The White House warned its patience, and that of the international community, was “running out” with Venezuela, joining the European Union and regional nations in demanding a detailed breakdown of the ballots cast.

Maduro said he was “ready to present 100 percent of the records,” as he addressed journalists outside the Supreme Court of Justice, where he filed an appeal against what he termed an “attack against the electoral process.”

“I am willing to be summoned, questioned, investigated in all aspects by the electoral chamber,” he said.

But Brian Nichols, the top US diplomat for Latin America, said that polling results released by the opposition provided “irrefutable evidence” that Maduro lost “by millions of votes.”

On Monday, security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Venezuelans after thousands took to the streets shouting “Freedom, freedom!” and “This government is going to fall!” 

– Nampa/AFP