Venezuelan election observers have received death threats and are currently in hiding.

Anthony is hiding out in this Colombian city on the border with Venezuela. He says he was targeted by paramilitary groups called “colectivos,” a key enforcement arm of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after volunteering as an opposition election observer. He fled to Cúcuta with other election staff, who say they all received similar threats. For their safety and the safety of the families they left behind, we agreed not to publish their faces or full names. All of their stories are direct evidence that the post-election crackdown took place mainly out of the public eye. These voting results, which they and other observers collected, were made public and showed that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez had in fact won the majority of the votes. While many countries, including the United States, question the election results, Maduro continues to claim victory. He and his supporters are now targeting the opposition as terrorists in the form of phone messages and visits to their homes. Anthony worked as a baker in Venezuela; the other three were a chef, a salesman, and an engineer. The Times reviewed evidence supporting their stories of being targeted as election observers. All of the men, who had been targeted before for their political activism, said the threats after this election seemed bolder and more direct. Celso Barbosa himself fled Venezuela six years ago. He said the men were the first group of political refugees he helped to help leave the country after July's election. Barbosa recently joined protests here in Colombia calling for Maduro's removal. Meanwhile, Maduro has yet to release his election records, and González fled to Spain after Venezuela's Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant. The men said others will soon be forced to leave the country if Maduro takes office in January.