These Venezuelan election observers have received death threats. Now they are hiding.

Anthony is hiding in this Colombian city on the border with Venezuela. He said that after volunteering as an election observer for the opposition party, he was targeted by paramilitary groups called “colectivos”, which are the main enforcers of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He fled to Cucuta with other election workers, who all said they had received similar threats. For their safety and the safety of the families they leave behind, we have agreed not to appear or use their full names. All of their stories provide first-hand evidence of a post-election crackdown that took place largely out of public view. These vote counts, collected by them and other observers, were made public and showed that opposition candidate Edmundo González actually won a majority of the vote. Although many countries, including the United States, have cast doubt on the election results, Maduro still claims victory. He and his supporters now view the opposition as terrorists, threatening them through phone messages and showing up at their homes. Anthony works as a baker in Venezuela. Others are a chef, a salesman and an engineer. The New York Times examined evidence corroborating their story of becoming election observers. All those who have been previously targeted for their political activities say the post-election threats feel more brazen and direct this time around. Celso Barbosa himself fled Venezuela six years ago. He said they were the first political exiles he helped flee the country after the July election. Barbosa recently attended a protest in Colombia calling for Maduro to step down. Meanwhile, Maduro has yet to release his electoral record and Gonzalez has now fled the country for Spain after Venezuela’s Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant. If Maduro is sworn in as president in January, others will soon be forced to flee the country, these people said.