CARACAS, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas

Maduro on Thursday took tensions with social media platform X

and its owner Elon Musk to new heights, banning the platform in

the South American country for 10 days amid furore over a

disputed presidential election.

Maduro said he signed a resolution presented by regulator

Conatel which "has decided to take social network X, formerly

known as Twitter, out of circulation for 10 days" and accused

Musk of inciting hate, civil war, and death.

"X get out of Venezuela for 10 days!" he said in a speech

which was broadcast on state television.

Maduro and Musk have frequently traded barbs over X, with

the platform's owner comparing the Venezuelan president to a

donkey, while Maduro has blamed Musk for being a driving force

behind protests and dissent following the election.

They have also offered and accepted challenges to fight each

other in comments on X and via Venezuelan state television.

The temporary ban on X represents another swipe at Big Tech,

after Maduro this week urged supporters to abandon Meta-owned

WhatsApp in favor of Telegram or WeChat, saying the

messaging app was being used to threaten the families of

soldiers and police officers.

WhatsApp declined to comment. X did not immediately respond

to requests for comment.

Venezuela's electoral authority proclaimed Maduro the winner

of the July 28 presidential election with some 51% of the vote,

although it has yet to produce the voting tallies.

The declaration sparked widespread accusations of fraud and

protests which were promoted across social media. Local advocacy

group the Venezuelan Observatory for Social Conflict reports at

least 23 people have been killed in protests.

In the days after the vote, protests from Venezuelans across

the country and abroad broke out demanding Maduro step down and

to honor a win by opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.

The opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado and Gonzalez,

says it has copies of the voting tallies that show it won the

election with more than 7 million votes, compared to Maduro's

3.3 million votes. That result is broadly similar to that

predicted by independent exit polls.

Countries including the U.S, Argentina and Chile have

refused to recognize Maduro's claimed victory, instead urging

transparency and the publication of the voting tallies. China

and Russia have congratulated Maduro on his victory.

Venezuelan security forces have launched a crackdown on what

authorities say are violent criminals, with Maduro touting more

than 2,000 arrests. Advocacy groups say those arrested are

peaceful demonstrators being targeted for repression.

"The voices of Venezuelan voters will not be silenced by

repression, censorship, or disinformation. The world is

watching," Brian A. Nichols, Assistant Secretary for Western

Hemisphere Affairs for the U.S State Department, said in a post

on X.

Earlier, the foreign ministers of Mexico, Colombia and

Brazil reiterated calls for Venezuela's electoral authority to

publish the vote tallies in a joint statement.

The statement followed comments Machado on Thursday, who

called on Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to

impress upon Maduro that his best option is to negotiate with

the country's opposition.