The United States on Thursday (1 August) recognised Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s rival and opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election, rejecting Maduro’s claim of victory.
“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States, and most importantly to the people of Venezuela, that Edmundo González Urrutia received the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.
Blinken stopped short of threatening new sanctions against Venezuela, but hinted at possible “punitive measures”. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Washington was considering new sanctions following the disputed election.
“We fully support the process of restoring democratic norms in Venezuela and stand ready to consider ways to support that process with our international partners,” Blinken said.
Blinken also called for the protection and safety of opposition leaders. “Law enforcement and security forces must not become instruments of political violence used against citizens exercising their democratic rights,” the US secretary said.
Opposition calls for nationwide protests
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday called for protests in every city in the country on Saturday.
“We must be strong, organised and mobilised with the pride of having won a historic victory on July 28 and the knowledge that we will go all the way to victory,” Machado said on social media.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, Machado said he had gone into hiding after Maduro’s victory and “feared for my life”.
Tensions rise with South American countries
Regional disputes are escalating as Venezuela has withdrawn diplomats from eight critical Latin American countries and asked their ambassadors to leave their territory.
Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay are among the countries that have cut diplomatic ties.
Argentine President Javier Milei said his country’s diplomatic staff would leave Venezuela on Thursday and thanked Brazil for securing its embassy.
Six Venezuelan opposition figures are currently sheltered in the Argentine embassy.
The Brazilian foreign ministry also announced that Peru had taken over its representation in Venezuela.
Peru’s recognition of González Urrutia as Venezuela’s legitimate leader on Tuesday prompted Caracas to break off diplomatic relations.
Joint statement from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico
The leaders of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia have called on Venezuela to release detailed election results amid disagreement over the outcome.
In a joint statement, the three countries called for an “impartial verification” of the results and urged Caracas to publish voting data by precinct.
“We call on the electoral authorities in Venezuela to act as soon as possible and allow the public release of the election results,” said a joint statement issued after a telephone call between the presidents of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Gustavo Petro.
The three countries reaffirmed their willingness to support efforts at dialogue and the search for an agreement that would benefit the Venezuelan people.
According to Reuters, the opposition has published detailed tallies on a public website, but the government has not yet released any information beyond a national vote total for each candidate.
