Maduro puts curse on rival voters in Venezuela (VIDEO)
Venezuelan acting president Nicolas Maduro clenches his fist after he was sworn in as acting President, in Caracas, on March 8, 2013. Maduro took over as acting president in a ceremony rejected by the opposition after a tearful farewell to Hugo Chavez during a rousing state funeral for the firebrand leftist.
A pox on you if you don't vote the right way in the Venezuelan presidential election.
President-Elect Nicholas Maduro put a curse on anyone who doesn't cast their ballot for him in next week's contest, BBC News reported.
The acting president likened his rival, Henrique Capriles, to a Spanish conquistador crushing the will of the country's indigenous people during the 16th century.
Maduro said a centuries-old curse would fall upon any citizen who voted against him as a result.
Capriles told BBC News that the only curse to fall upon Venezuelans would happen if Maduro is elected president next week.
Hundreds of thousands of supporters crammed the streets of Caracas yesterday in what Capriles called a fast-changing tide in the race.
Polls have shown him as many as 20 points behind Maduro.
Late last week, Maduro accused the opposition of plotting to sabotage the national power grid to cause a blackout ahead of the election.
He repeated that claim while campaigning on Saturday as he drove a bus.