The United States formally recognized this Tuesday the Edmundo González, leader of the Venezuelan opposition as the country’s elected president after the protest presidential elections of July 28as Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in a message on social media.
“The Venezuelan people spoke out forcefully on July 28 and named Edmundo González president-elect. “Democracy requires respect for the will of voters,” the top American diplomat wrote this Tuesday during his participation in the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
THE this statement represents a significant shift in U.S. policy toward Venezuela. Until Tuesday, the United States and other countries claimed that Edmundo González won more votes than Venezuelan drug dictator Nicolás Maduro on July 28, acknowledging Maduro’s electoral fraud. But until Tuesday, they avoided recognizing González as “president-elect.”
The move aims to increase international pressure on drug dictator Nicolás Maduro after his electoral fraud. Edmundo González became opposition leader after Maduro disqualified María Corina Machado, the opposition leader, who was ahead of him in the polls. The inauguration of Nicolas Maduro for his third term is scheduled for January 10.
