CARACAS  -   Armed and hooded members of the Venezuelan security forces have surrounded Argentina’s embassy in Caracas, according to leaders of the country’s opposition. Six members of the opposition are currently taking refuge in the embassy, having fled there to escape a crackdown by Venezuelan authorities in the run-up to July’s presidential elections.

Pedro Urruchurtu, who has been in the embassy since March and is the international coordinator for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, wrote on X Saturday that armed hooded members of the National Police had closed off streets around the embassy. Drones were hovering above the embassy and phone signals had been cut off, he said. Omar Gonzalez, another opposition member living in the embassy, posted a video on X showing Venezuelan police outside the diplomatic building.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claimed victory in the July election, despite widespread skepticism in the country and overseas about the result. Opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez – who was last week recognized by the US as the winner of that election – said in a post on X Saturday that the embassy had been “besieged by hooded people.” “I alert the world to what may happen to fellow refugees in the Argentine Embassy in Caracas,” Gonzalez said. CNN is seeking comment from Venezuelan authorities. Similar scenes took place in September, when Venezuelan security forces surrounded the Argentine embassy.