Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has blocked his country's access to X for ten days after Elon Musk labelled him a 'dictator' and a 'clown'.
The two men have been at loggerheads since Mr Maduro was declared the winner of the country'sdisputed presidential election, held on July 28.
Mr Maduro has accused Mr Musk of using his platform X to promote hatred after the CEO voiced support for the opposition.
On Thursday night, journalists in Caracas found that posts had stopped loading on X, formerly known as Twitter, on two private telephone services and state-owned Movilnet.
The ten-day block follows posts by Mr Musk on the social media platform that described the Venezuelan leader as a 'dictator' and a 'clown'.
In a speech to pro-government groups, Mr Maduto said: 'Elon Musk is the owner of X and has violated all the rules of the social network itself.'
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro smiles during a press conference at the Miraflores presidential palace
Pictured: X CEO Elon Musk arrives at an event in Los Angeles
Musk published a slew of posts on X claiming that the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won the election
He also shared a post from opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, along with a wanted poster of Maduro from the US State Department related to charges of narco-terrorism
A demonstrator reacts when Molotov co*cktails hit the ground in front of security forces during protests against election results in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela on July 29
He added that Mr Musk 'has incited hatred' with his comments.
The Venezuelan leader also accused his opponents of using X to cause political unrest in the wake of his re-election.
Mr Maduro told pro-government crowds, who had gathered in Caracas to march on behalf of the president, that he had signed a resolution 'with the proposal made by Conatel, the National Telecommunications Commission, which has decided to remove the social network X from circulation in Venezuela for 10 days so that they can present their documents.'
He added: 'X out for 10 days! Elon Musk out!'
The Venezuelan leader did not provide further detail about the processes the telecommunications commission had taken against X.
The president's announcement came after Mr Maduro and Mr Musk had exchanged heated accusations online about the July 28 poll.
Electoral authorities declared Mr Maduro the winner but have yet to produce voting tallies.
Meanwhile, the opposition claims to have collected records from more than 80 per cent of the 30,000 electronic voting machines nationwide showing the winner was their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez.
Venezuela's electoral authority, declared last Sunday, however that Mr Maduro had won athird term with 51 per cent of votes to extend a quarter-century of socialist rule.
Protesters have recetnly taken to the streets demanding that Mr Maduro acknowledge that he lost the election.
The enraged demonstrators blocked roads, lit fires and thrown petrol bombs at police, who responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowds of rioters.
As of July 31, at least 11 people had been killed in incidents related to the protests,according to rights group Foro Penal.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a rally at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on July 30, 2024
A man holds a poster beside other Venezuelans living in Mexico and members of Comando ConVzla during a protest against the election results in Mexico City
Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro take part in a rally heading to Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on July 30, 2024
Baruta's Municipal Police remove a barricade as people protest election results that awarded Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro with a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela July 30, 2024
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (L) delivers a speech after learning the results of the presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, 29 July 2024
Mr Musk took to X to accuse the self-proclaimed socialist leader of 'great electoral fraud.'
'Shame on the dictator Maduro,' Mr Musk said in a post on Monday.
The two have been embroiled in an online spat in recent weeks, with Mr Maduro challenging Mr Musk to a fistfight in a public address.
On July 31, the Tesla CEO accepted the Venezuelan leader's challenge.
'I accept,' Mr Musk tweeted in response, before adding in a reply to another user on X: 'He will chicken out.'
Since the election, Mr Maduro has expressed the need to 'regulate' social networks in Venezuela.
He has also reached out to China and Russia for help and has blamedMusk for spreading criticism of the election without presenting evidence.
The 61-year-old president is a former union leader and foreign minister who won an election after former President Hugo Chavez's death in 2013.
Mr Maduro was re-elected in 2018 in a vote the opposition also says was fraudulent.
He has presided over an economic collapse and a mass exodus of Venezuelans, while U.S. and EU sanctions have crippled an already struggling oil industry.
Mr Maduro's win is expected to spur more migration from Venezuela, once the continent's wealthiest country, which in recent years has seen a third of its population leave.
