Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles, refusing to concede defeat, accused Nicolas Maduro's government Wednesday of stealing the country's recent presidential elections. "The truth -- and it is as big as our country is wide -- is that you stole the election. That is the truth. You stole this electoral process, and you have to explain that to this country and to the world," a defiant Capriles told a news conference.

By Deisy Buitrago and Daniel Wallis CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government-controlled parliament set up an inquiry on Wednesday into violence over a disputed election that authorities blame on opposition leader Henrique Capriles. Nine people died and dozens were injured after opposition protests against Nicolas Maduro's narrow April 14 presidential poll win turned violent around the South American nation.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles accused Nicolas Maduro's government on Wednesday of stealing the April 14 presidential election, which he has not conceded the president won. Political tensions soared as both the government and Capriles called massive street rallies for May 1. lda/mdl/oh

With one of the world's highest murder rates, Venezuela's daily Russian roulette with violent crime now has an added spin: the threat of political violence due to the country's election impasse. Cardinal Jorge Urosa, the archbishop of Caracas who has appealed to Venezuelan leaders to tone down their rhetoric, with little apparent success, worries about the dovetailing trends in a deeply divided society. "There is an increase in aggressiveness generally among the Venezuelan people and we have to reduce it, eliminate it and strive to respect life," he told AFP.