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Edmundo González Urrutia, the standard-bearer of Venezuela’s largest opposition alliance, continues to receive international support after the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Costa Rica recognized him as the winner of the December 28 presidential elections, contrary to the announcement by the National Electoral Council (CNE) last July that Venezuelan head of state Nicolás Maduro had been re-elected president.
For the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, González Urrutia is the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election based on “overwhelming evidence.”
“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and especially to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won a majority of the vote in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” said U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blicken.
Argentina is led by ultra-liberal Javier Mire, a staunch opponent of Nicolás Maduro, with whom he exchanged insults on social networks this week.
“We can all confirm without a doubt that the legitimate winner and president-elect is Edmundo González,” said Diana Mondino, Argentina’s minister of foreign affairs, international trade and worship.
Likewise, the Peruvian government recognized González Urrutia as the democratically elected president of Venezuela, and in response, the Maduro government severed ties with Peru, citing “disregard for the will of the people.”
The governments of Ecuador, Panama, Uruguay and Costa Rica also came out in the past hours to recognize González Urrutia as the winner of the election.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said in his X-Telegram account that González Urrutia was the “legitimate winner” and that this recognition was “based on respect for the legitimate will of the people of this country, expressed powerfully in the vote and supported by the government,” according to people who have mobilized in the streets over the past few days.
Meanwhile, Uruguayan Foreign Minister Omar Paganini also pointed out in X that “Uruguay is well aware, based on overwhelming evidence, that González Urrutia received the majority of votes in the Venezuelan presidential election.”
For the Costa Rican government, Nicolás Maduro did not receive a majority of votes from the Venezuelan people, and “it is indisputable that Edmundo González received the majority support of the Venezuelan people.”
Meanwhile, Panamanian President José Raul Mulino said his country “joins those who recognize the election of Edmundo González Urrutia as president of Venezuela. “Let respect for the will of the people be the foundation of democracy.”
Chilean President Gabriel Boric was one of the first international leaders to call for transparency in the vote count and to question the results announced by the country’s electoral council on Sunday evening.
Paraguay reiterated that “the National Electoral Council needs to make the corresponding electoral records public and allow for their independent audit.”
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell called on Latin America to unite “its positions and its forces” in demanding an independent analysis of the electoral record in Venezuela’s presidential election to clarify the official results that have been questioned by the opposition.
The role of Colombia, Brazil and Mexico
Contrary to much of the United States, the governments of Colombia, Brazil and Mexico, which are allies or have close ties to Maduro, said in a joint statement that “electoral disputes” must be resolved through “institutional” means and that, in principle, popular sovereignty must be respected through “impartial verification of the results.”
At the same time, they called on politicians to exercise “maximum caution and restraint” during protests against the official results released by the CNE to avoid an “escalation of violence” that left at least 12 people dead, including a soldier – and hundreds arrested.
Maduro’s government this week ordered the withdrawal of ambassadors from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay, and expelled those countries’ diplomatic missions from Venezuelan territory.
This Friday, the CNE confirmed Maduro’s victory with 51.95% of the votes, while his opponent González Urrutia received 43.18% on 96.87% of the minutes.
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