These election observers in Venezuela faced death threats. Now they are hiding.

Anthony is hiding in this Colombian town on the border with Venezuela. He says he was targeted by paramilitary groups called “colectivos,” key enforcers of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after he volunteered as an election observer for the opposition party. He took refuge here in Kukuta, along with these other election workers, who all describe receiving similar threats. We agreed not to show their faces or use their full names for their safety and that of the families they left behind. All their stories offer first-hand evidence of a post-election crackdown that took place largely out of the public eye. These vote tallies collected by themselves and other observers were made public, showing that opposition candidate Edmundo González had in fact won a majority. While many countries, including the United States, have cast doubt on the election results, Maduro continues to claim victory. He and his supporters are now targeting the opposition as terrorists, with threats in the form of phone messages and showing up at their homes. Anthony worked as a bread maker in Venezuela. The others, a chef, a salesman and an engineer. The Times reviewed evidence that corroborated their stories that they were targeted as election observers. All the men who have been targeted for their political activism in the past say the threats after this election felt more brazen and direct. Celso Barbosa himself fled Venezuela six years ago. He says the men were the first group of political exiles he helped flee the country after the July election. Barbosa recently attended a demonstration here in Colombia calling for Maduro to step down. Meanwhile, Maduro has yet to release his electoral record and Gonzalez has now left the country for Spain after a high court in Venezuela issued a warrant for his arrest. These men say that if Maduro is sworn in as president in January, others will soon be forced to flee the country as well.