Venezuela, Caracas: President Nicolas Maduro announced a 10-day block on access to X in Venezuela, accusing its owner, Elon Musk, of using the platform to incite hatred following the country's contentious presidential election.

By Thursday night, Associated Press reporters in Caracas observed that posts on X were not loading on both private mobile networks and the state-owned Movilnet.

Maduro, speaking after a pro-government march, claimed that Musk, as the owner of X, had breached the platform's rules and was inciting hatred. He further alleged that the platform was being utilized by his opponents to stir political unrest.

Maduro revealed that he had endorsed a resolution proposed by CONATEL, the National Telecommunications Commission, to suspend X-formerly known as Twitter-for 10 days, allowing the platform time to present its documents. He did not provide additional details on the process against X.

X's press office has yet to respond to an AP request for comment.

This announcement follows a dispute between Maduro and Musk regarding the results of Venezuela's July 28 presidential election. While electoral authorities declared Maduro the victor, they have not yet released voting figures.

The opposition, however, claims to have data from over 80 percent of the 30,000 electronic voting machines nationwide, suggesting that their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won the election. Musk used X to accuse Maduro of committing a "great electoral fraud."

Since the election, Maduro has advocated for the regulation of social networks in Venezuela. He also criticized the platform for allegedly being used by his opponents to threaten the families of his supporters, military personnel, and police officers, and to create widespread anxiety in the country.