Christian Veron / Reuters

Supporters of opposition leader Henrique Capriles face off against riot police as they demonstrate for a recount of the votes in Sunday's election, in Caracas, Venezuela, on April 15, 2013.

Leo Ramirez / AFP - Getty Images

Riot police with tear gas face off against opposition supporters in Caracas on April 15, 2013. Venezuela's acting president, Nicolas Maduro, was proclaimed the winner of the country's election on Monday, triggering protests as the opposition demanded a recount.

Both sides in Venezuela's political standoff will hold rival demonstrations on Tuesday after authorities rejected opposition demands for a presidential election recount and protesters clashed with police in Caracas.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles says his team's figures show he won the election on Sunday and he wants a full audit of official results that narrowly gave victory to ruling party candidate Nicolas Maduro, the country's acting president.

The National Electoral Council has refused to hold a recount of the votes, and police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Monday to disperse opposition supporters who protested in a wealthy district of Caracas. Read the full story.

Related:

Major challenges face Venezuela's next leader - whoever he is

'I am the son of Chavez': Former bus driver rides high in Venezuela election

Slideshow: Venezuela mourns Hugo Chavez

Venezuelan Presidency via EPA

Venezuelan ruling party presidential candidate Nicolas Maduro, bottom left, greets his supporters after casting his ballot at a polling station in Caracas, Venezuela, April 14. Maduro said the election has seen a participation record and he hopes to be the president to keep and improve the policies of late President Hugo Chavez.

By Alexandra Olson and Frank Bajak, The Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela — Voters who kept Hugo Chavez in office for 14 years were deciding Sunday whether to elect the devoted lieutenant he chose to carry on the revolution that endeared him to the poor but that many Venezuelans believe is ruining the nation.

Across Caracas, trucks blaring bugle calls awoke Venezuelans long before dawn in the ruling socialists' traditional election day get-out-the-vote tactic. This time, they also boomed Chavez's voice singing the national anthem.

Read the full story.

Leo Ramirez / AFP - Getty Images

People line up to cast their votes at a polling station in Petare shantytown, Caracas.

Ramon Espinosa / AP

Residents look for their names on voter lists outside a polling station during the presidential election in Caracas.

Ramon Espinosa / AP

A voter has her finger marked with ink after casting her ballot.

Fernando Llano / AP

Opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles greets supporters after casting his ballot.

Luis Acosta / AFP - Getty Images

Venezuela's acting president and presidential candidate Nicolas Maduro gestures during his closing campaign rally in Caracas on April 11, 2013 ahead of Sunday's presidential election.

Raul Arboleda / AFP - Getty Images

Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles attends a campaign rally in Barquisimeto, Lara state, on April 11, 2013.

The late Hugo Chavez's self-declared socialist revolution will be put to the test at a presidential election on Sunday that pits his chosen successor against a younger rival promising change in the nation he polarized.

Most opinion polls give his protege, acting President Nicolas Maduro, a strong lead over opposition challenger Henrique Capriles thanks to Chavez's endorsement and the surge of grief and sympathy over his death from cancer last month.

Ramon Espinosa / AP

Supporters hold a toddler wearing a Maduro-style mustache at the closing campaign rally for Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on April 11, 2013.

Raul Arboleda / AFP - Getty Images

Supporters of Henrique Capriles attend his closing rally in Barquisimeto on April 11, 2013.

Tomas Bravo / Reuters

Nicolas Maduro, left, watches former Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona kick a ball during Maduro's closing rally on April 11, 2013.

The candidates closed out official campaigning on Thursday with dueling rallies, both drawing hundreds of thousands of boisterous supporters. Taking a page out of Chavez's playbook, a fiery Maduro marched through the streets of the capital draped in a Venezuelan flag and called on voters to follow "commander Chavez as the spiritual guide of the fatherland."

"I am the son of Chavez," the burly 50-year-old former bus driver shouted to supporters in downtown Caracas. "I am ready to be your president."

Capriles, an energetic 40-year-old state governor, wrapped up his campaign in the nearby city of Barquisimeto. "Those who govern today have never done anything for your security. Sunday we're going to choose between life and death," he roared to the crowd. "If you want a future, you have to vote for change, for a different government." Read the full story.

Related:

Maduro sworn in as Venezuela's acting president

Slideshow: Venezuela mourns Hugo Chavez

Leo Ramirez / AFP - Getty Images

Capriles pours water on his head during his final rally on April 11, 2013.

Enric Marti / AP

A soldier looks through binoculars at people gathered along Bolivar Avenue for the closing campaign rally for ruling party presidential candidate Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on April 11, 2013.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello hold each other as they talk after Maduro's swearing-in as caretaker president following the death of President Hugo Chavez in Caracas March 8, 2013.  Read the full story.

Slideshow: Hugo Chavez: 1954 - 2013

Francisco Gomez / Spanish Royal / EPA

Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez mourn his death and gather for his funeral.

Launch slideshow

Slideshow: Hugo Chavez dies: The world reacts

Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez across the Americas mourn his death.

Launch slideshow

Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez react to the announcement of his death in Caracas on Tuesday, March 5, 2013. Chavez has died after a two-year battle with cancer, ending the socialist leader's 14-year rule of the South American country, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said in a televised speech on Tuesday.     Read the full story.

Leo Ramirez / AFP - Getty Images

Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gather in front of Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on Tuesday night, after knowing of their leader's death.

Slideshow: Hugo Chavez dies: The world reacts

Claudio Santana / AFP - Getty Images

Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in the United States and elsewhere mourn his death.

Launch slideshow

Fernando Llano / AP

Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez cheer as they watch military planes fly over during a symbolic inauguration ceremony outside Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on Jan. 10.

Reuters reports: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez remained on his sickbed in Cuba on Thursday while thousands of supporters rallied in his honor on the day he should have been sworn in for a new six-year term in the South American OPEC nation. The postponement of the inauguration, a first in Venezuelan history, has laid bare the gravity of Chavez's condition after complications from a fourth cancer operation in his pelvic area. Full Story

Juan Barreto / AFP - Getty Images

Members of Venezuela's Honour Guard attend a massive gathering in homage of Chavez in Caracas.

Ariana Cubillos / AP

A member of Venezuela's Bolivarian militia holds a flower during a symbolic inauguration rally for Hugo Chavez in Caracas.

David Fernandez / EPA

A man flashes his tattoo of President Chavez during a rally near Miraflores Palace.

Slideshow: Hugo Chavez through the years

Follow @NBCNewsPictures

Jorge Silva / Reuters

An aerial view shows an illegal mine in the jungle in southern Venezuela.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

An illegal miner or garimpeiro works in a mine close to the Ikabaru river in southern Venezuela.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

Rough diamonds are seen on the desk of a trader in his office in Santa Elena de Uairen in the south of Venezuela.

In the triangle that connects Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana a huge number of illegal gold and diamond prospectors — garimpeiros — dream of changing their lives overnight by finding a huge bonanza. 

Writing on Reuters' photographers blog, Jorge Silva describes his journey to document these remote mines: 

We are just north of the Amazon Basin, riding a boat on the Ikabaru River. The passengers are people who buy gold and diamonds. They stop at each of the illegal mines that appear as craters on the river’s edge. They carry small weighing scales that seem very accurate, magnifying loupes, burners to melt the gold and separate the mercury, and some large spoons to collect it.

They are also carrying bags full of cash.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

An illegal mine is seen in the southern Venezuelan state of Bolivar, near the border with Brazil.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

A man performs maintenance while sitting on the top of an Antonov An-2 aircraft before it departs with supplies to the mines, in the town of Ikabaru in the south of Venezuela.

The appeal of working in illegal mining is enormous. Four grams of gold equal an average monthly wage in Venezuela. An ounce of the metal goes for over $1,700. The gold fever is understandable if you consider that an ounce used to sell for $250 ten years ago.

But in these mines, and the towns around them, life is expensive. A bottle of water costs around $12, and a 250-liter tank of gasoline, which would cost just $5 in the rest of the country, here goes for up to $1,200. Venezuela is known for having the cheapest gasoline in the world.

Masked men stole 70 gold bars from fishing boat in Curacao

Those who can, work hard. They don’t know if they will be able to carry on. The government is threatening to clamp down on clandestine mining. Thousands of families and whole towns live off this activity, directly or indirectly.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

A garimpeiro digs with a pressure hose in Bolivar.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

Heavily armed guards hold their weapons outside a business licensed to buy rough diamonds and gold in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana.

In a city nearby, a diamond buyer adjusted the gun on his waist while he greeted a miner who brought some “rocks.” He passionately explained that diamonds are the perfect currency. “You can carry thousands of dollars in the pocket of your pants without setting off any metal detector. There are no borders for them.”

Back at the mine, Ramón walked exhausted at the end of his workday. His face, ravaged by the sun, was sprinkled with mud. When he smiled, a golden “R” became visible, inlaid in one of his front teeth. Read the full story.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

An miner named Ramon flashes a gold letter 'R' on his tooth as he smiles after working in a mine in Bolivar.

Editor's note: Images taken in November, 2012 and made available to NBC News today.

Follow @NBCNewsPictures

•Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

Soldiers stand guard during a public destruction of confiscated weapons in Lara, Venezuela, Nov. 30, 2012.

Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

Weapons are lined up during a public destruction of confiscated weapons in Lara, Venezuela, Nov. 30.

Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

A worker destroys a shotgun during a public destruction of confiscated weapons in Lara, Venezuela, Nov. 30.

Follow @NBCNewsPictures

•Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

Tomas Bravo / Reuters

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez holds the sword used by former military leader Simon Bolivar while celebrating from a balcony at Miraflores Palace in Caracas on October 7, 2012.

Ariana Cubillos / AP

Supporters of Hugo Chavez celebrate in downtown Caracas on Oct. 7, 2012. Chavez won re-election and a new endorsement of his socialist project Sunday, surviving his closest race yet after a bitter campaign against opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.

Ariana Cubillos / AP

Supporters of Hugo Chavez perform a mock funeral for opposition candidate Henrique Capriles as they celebrate in downtown Caracas on Oct. 7, 2012.

By NBC News staff and wire reports — President Hugo Chavez scored a comfortable election victory that could extend his rule to 20 years and vowed to deepen his self-styled socialist revolution after a bitterly fought race against a youthful rival who has galvanized Venezuela's opposition.

Slideshow: Hugo Chavez through the years

"Truthfully, this has been the perfect battle, a democratic battle," Chavez thundered from the balcony of the presidential palace on Sunday, waving a replica of the sword of independence hero Simon Bolivar. "Venezuela will continue along the path of democratic and Bolivarian socialism of the 21st century." Read the full story.

Follow @NBCNewsPictures

Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

Rodrigo Arangua / AFP - Getty Images

People line up to cast their vote at a polling station in Caracas on Oct. 7. Venezuelans went to the polls Sunday in the toughest election President Hugo Chavez has faced in almost 14 years in power after fresh-faced rival Henrique Capriles electrified the opposition.

Rodrigo Abd / AP

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez arrives to a polling station during the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, on Oct. 7.

Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

Venezuela's opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles is mobbed by supporters after he voted in the presidential election pitting him against President Hugo Chavez, in Caracas on Oct. 7.

Slideshow: Hugo Chavez through the years

The life of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez from his rise as a lieutenant colonel after his failed coup attempt in 1992.

Launch slideshow

NBC News staff and wire services -- As Venezuelans streamed to the polls, President Hugo Chavez said Sunday he will accept the results of the country's election, whether he wins or loses.

"We'll respect the results, whatever they are," he told reporters after casting his vote in Caracas. He also said voters were turning out in massive numbers in Sunday's election.   

The Venezuelan leader is running against opposition leader Henrique Capriles in a vote widely viewed as the toughest electoral challenge of Chavez's nearly 14-year-old presidency.  Chavez was greeted at the polling center by American actor Danny Glover and Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchu.

The vote is an all-or-nothing contest between two camps that deeply distrust each other and question whether the other side will respect the results of the election. The stakes couldn't be higher. 

If Chavez wins, he will have a free hand to dominate Venezuela for six more years on top of the 14 years he has already been in office, letting him push for an even bigger state role in the economy and cement his legacy.

Continue reading.

Sharon Steinmann / AP

A man and woman ride a motorcycle decorated with a Venezuelan flag near a polling station during the presidential election in the 23 de Enero neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, on Oct. 7.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

Venezuelan presidential honor guards line up before casting their vote during the presidential elections in Caracas on Oct. 7.

Ramon Espinosa / AP

People wait to vote in the presidential election at a polling station in Caracas, Venezuela, on Oct. 7. President Hugo Chavez is running against opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.

Follow @NBCNewsPictures

Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

Ramon Espinosa / AP

A giant inflatable doll representing President Hugo Chavez stands on top of a building in Caracas, Venezuela, Oct. 6. Chavez is running for re-election against opposition leader Henrique Capriles in Sunday's presidential election.

Ramon Espinosa / AP

Election campaign posters of President Hugo Chavez hang by dolls on display outside the doll collector's home in downtown Caracas, Oct. 6.

Rodrigo Abd / AP

A man reads a newspaper inside his home, where supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez painted a mural of Chavez's eyes, on the outer wall in Caracas, Venezuela, Oct. 5.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

A soldier stands near a door next to a campaign mural of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Caracas, Oct. 6.

Venezuelans will head to the polls Sunday to vote in their country's presidential election, deciding on whether to keep Hugo Chavez or vote for opposition rival Henrique Capriles. While most polls indicate a clear win for Chavez, others have shown Capriles narrowing the gap. Chavez is seeking a new six-year term as he marks his 14th year in power. 

Ariana Cubillos / AP

A woman looks out a bus window spray painted with the last name of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, in Caracas, Venezuela, Oct. 5.

Follow @NBCNewsPictures

•Sign up for the NBC News Photos Newsletter

Slideshow: Hugo Chavez through the years

The life of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez from his rise as a lieutenant colonel after his failed coup attempt in 1992.

Launch slideshow