US Recognizes Opposition Candidate as Winner in Venezuela

Photo: Yuri Cortez Agence France-Presse Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, pictured here at an opposition political rally on July 30, is the real winner of the presidential election, according to Washington.

Regina Garcia Cano – Associated Press, Gabriela Sá Pessoa – Associated Press, E. Eduardo Castillo – Associated Press in Caracas

Posted at 7:00 a.m.

• Americas

The stakes have risen even higher for Venezuelan electoral authorities to prove they stand by their decision to declare President Nicolás Maduro the winner of the country’s presidential election after the United States on Thursday recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner, discrediting the official results of the vote.

The U.S. announcement follows calls from several governments, including close allies of Mr. Maduro, for Venezuela’s National Electoral Council to release detailed vote counts, as it has done in previous elections.

The electoral body declared the former president the winner on Monday, but the main opposition coalition revealed hours later that it had evidence to the contrary.

“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, more importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Nicolás Maduro responded with a quick rebuke: “The United States must keep its nose out of Venezuela!” »

The U.S. government's announcement comes amid diplomatic efforts by Brazil, Colombia and Mexico to persuade President Nicolás Maduro's administration to release vote tallies from Sunday's election and allow for an impartial audit, a Brazilian government official told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Officials have assured the Venezuelan regime that presenting the results is the only way to dispel any doubts about the election, said the Brazilian official, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak publicly about such diplomatic efforts.

A Mexican official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the three governments had discussed the issue with Venezuela but did not provide further details. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had said he planned to speak with Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

On Monday, after the National Electoral Council announced Maduro as the winner of the election, thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets. The government said it had arrested hundreds of protesters, while the Venezuela-based human rights group Foro Penal said 11 people had been killed. Dozens more political opponents were arrested the next day, including former opposition candidate Freddy Superlano.

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“Fearing for my life, my freedom and that of my compatriots”

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado — who was barred from running for president — and her presidential candidate, Edmundo González, addressed a huge rally of their supporters in the capital, Caracas, on Tuesday. They have not been seen in public since. Later in the day, National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodriguez called for their arrest, calling them criminals and fascists.

In an opinion piece published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Machado revealed that she was “in hiding, fearing for my life, my freedom and that of my countrymen.” She reiterated that the opposition had material evidence that President Maduro had lost the election and urged the international community to intervene.

“We voted Mr. Maduro out of office,” she wrote. “It is now up to the international community to decide whether to tolerate a government that is clearly illegitimate.”

Over the years, government repression has driven opposition leaders into exile. After the article was published, Machado’s team told the AP that she was “taking cover” and planned to speak to Venezuelans later Thursday.

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Too Close to the Court

On Wednesday, Maduro asked Venezuela’s top court to conduct an audit of the election, but the request drew almost immediate criticism from foreign observers, who said the court was too close to the government to provide an independent review.

It is unclear whether President Maduro's first concession to demands for more transparency is the result of discussions with Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. The Venezuelan president confirmed Wednesday during a press conference that he had spoken to his Colombian counterpart about it.

Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice is closely linked to the government of Mr. Maduro. The court's judges are proposed by federal officials and ratified by the National Assembly, dominated by the president's supporters.

Mr. González and Ms. Machado say they obtained more than two-thirds of the printed tally sheets from the electronic voting machines after the polls closed. They assured that the publication of the data on these counts would prove that President Maduro lost.

Asked why electoral authorities have not released detailed vote counts, Maduro said the National Electoral Council had been the target of attacks, including cyberattacks, without elaborating.

Pressure has increased on the president since the election.

The National Electoral Council, loyal to Maduro’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela, has yet to release results broken down by voting machine, as it has in previous elections. But he said President Maduro received 5.1 million votes, compared to more than 4.4 million for González.

But opposition leader Machado said the vote count shows González received about 6.2 million votes, compared to 2.7 million for Maduro.

Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and was once the most advanced economy in Latin America. It went into freefall after President Maduro took over in 2013. Falling oil prices, widespread shortages, and hyperinflation that exceeded 130,000% led to social unrest and mass emigration.

More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014, the largest exodus in recent Latin American history.