Diplomatic efforts are underway to persuade Maduro to release Venezuela election vote tallies

Brazilian and Mexican officials have told the Associated Press that diplomatic efforts are underway to persuade President Nicolás Maduro to release vote tallies from Venezuela's presidential election. Electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner in Sunday's election but opposition leaders dispute that result. Brazilian officials say representatives from the governments of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico are in constant communication with Maduro’s government, trying to convince him to make the voting tallies public and allow impartial verification. Maduro has asked Venezuela’s highest court to conduct an audit of the election, but that request drew almost immediate criticism from foreign observers who said the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review.