The U.S. has determined that Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez defeated socialist strongman Nicolas Maduro in the South American nation’s disputed presidential election last weekend.
“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most 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 Thursday.
“We congratulate Edmundo González Urrutia on his successful campaign. Now is the time for the Venezuelan parties to begin discussions on a respectful, peaceful transition in accordance with Venezuelan electoral law and the wishes of the Venezuelan people. We fully support the process of re-establishing democratic norms in Venezuela and stand ready to consider ways to bolster it jointly with our international partners.”
Exit polls and election results tabulated by the opposition showed Gonzalez defeat Maduro handily, but the Venezuelan government’s tally put Maduro narrowly ahead over the opposition. Maduro’s National Electoral Council has not released precinct-level official results or any other evidence that he won the election.
The Carter Center, an international nonprofit group, independently monitored the Venezuelan election and could not verify the Venezuelan government’s election results. Maduro’s regime allowed him to receive overwhelmingly positive coverage from state-controlled media, and devoted government resources to Maduro’s campaign, while cracking down on legitimate rivals, the Carter Center observed.
Gonzalez, a little-known figure, became the opposition candidate after Venezuelan authorities prevented opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from running against Maduro. Machado is now in hiding because of Maduro’s threats to have her arrested, and early this morning masked assailants raided her headquarters, stealing important documents and images.
“I am writing this from hiding, fearing for my life, my freedom, and that of my fellow countrymen from the dictatorship led by Nicolás Maduro,” Machado wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
“Most of our team is in hiding, and after seven diplomatic missions were expelled from Venezuela, my aides in the Argentine Embassy are being protected by the government of Brazil. I could be captured as I write these words.”
The irregularities surrounding Venezuela’s election drew calls from the U.S. and Latin American nations for transparency, with some leaders strongly supporting the opposition’s cause. President Joe Biden and left-wing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva recently spoke about the issue, and both called for the “immediate release of full, transparent, and detailed voting data at the polling station level by the Venezuelan electoral authorities.”
Maduro is demanding Venezuela’s highest court conduct an audit of the election, his only concession to the calls for greater transparency. Like the rest of the Venezuelan government, the court is stacked full of Maduro allies and is unlikely to be independent in its audit.
For more than a decade, Maduro has followed the steps of his predecessor, socialist dictator Hugo Chavez, ruling Venezuela with an iron fist. Millions of Venezuelans have fled the nation over the past few years became of crippling hyperinflation and food shortages that have plagued the oil-rich nation’s economy.
Venezuelans upset with the disputed election results have taken to the streets to protest the outcome and the government quickly cracked down to quiet the demonstrations. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested and more than a dozen are believed to have been killed.