Related videos:
The United States government officially recognized Edmundo González Urrutia as the elected president of Venezuela on Tuesday, following the elections held on July 28 in the South American nation.
The statement was issued by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who emphasized on social media that "the Venezuelan people spoke decisively on July 28 and named Edmundo González as the elected president. Democracy requires respect for the will of the voters," he declared.
Although the Biden Administration acknowledged González Urrutia as the winner of the elections on August 1, it had not until now used the term "president-elect."
The decision to use this title comes in a context close to Nicolás Maduro's inauguration for a third term, scheduled for January 10, 2024.
Despite reports of fraud, widespread public rejection, and the failure to publish disaggregated results, Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro re-elected.
In contrast, the opposition coalition Plataforma Unitaria Democrática (PUD) presented documents declaring González Urrutia the winner. He has been in exile in Spain since September after reporting political persecution by the Venezuelan authorities.
According to a senior official in the Biden Administration, the use of the term "president-elect" does not imply the official recognition of González Urrutia as the president of Venezuela, but rather reflects the U.S. stance of recognizing him as the winner of the elections based on the publicly available results.
González Urrutia, who has stated that he will return to Venezuela in January for the inauguration as president, expressed gratitude for the recognition and regarded it as support for the "sovereign will" of the Venezuelan people.
On his X account, he stated: "We are deeply grateful for the recognition of the sovereign will of all Venezuelans. This gesture honors the desire for change of our people and the civic action we all took part in on July 28th."
In 2019, then-President Donald Trump recognized Juan Guaidó as the legitimate president of the country.
Filed under: