The United States recognizes the Venezuelan opposition leader Gonzalez as the newly elected president Nicolas Maduro news

On By Littum

The US announcement follows months of frustration over the Maduro government’s claims of victory in disputed July elections.

The United States has recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as the country’s rightful president-elect, following an election in July in which President Nicolas Maduro was accused by his domestic opponents of falsely claiming victory.

The United States has also cast doubt on Maduro’s claims of success in the election, which before the election had shown he was on course to lose by a wide margin. Maduro’s government has rejected calls to release data that could confirm his victory.

“The Venezuelan people spoke resoundingly on July 28 and made Edmundo Gonzalez-Urrutia the president-elect,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a social media post on Tuesday.

“Democracy requires respect for the will of the electorate.”

The United States and several governments in Latin America have refused to recognize Maduro’s victory, widely viewed with skepticism and followed by a crackdown by the Venezuelan government after the election.

The country’s opposition, which faced the prosecution of several top candidates in the months leading up to the July 28 election, has also compiled tallies purporting to show they beat Maduro by a two-to-one margin.

It remains to be seen what impact, if any, the recognition of Gonzales by US President Joe Biden’s administration will have. The opposition leader has fled to Spain but has said he would return to the country on January 10 when the new presidency begins.

While the Biden administration had previously stated that the opposition won the most votes, it had stopped short of recognizing Gonzalez as the country’s leader, possibly out of a desire to find a diplomatic solution to the impasse with the Maduro government.

Venezuela has faced growing diplomatic isolation following the disputed election. While Washington has long had frosty relations with Caracas, even taking steps to topple previous governments, regional leaders previously on friendly terms with Maduro have grown increasingly impatient with the government.

“I think the election was a mistake,” leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday, adding that they had not been “free”.

In August, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who had previously stressed the need for an easing of sanctions against Venezuela that have contributed to the country’s economic turmoil, said the Maduro government was a “very unpleasant regime”.