The leader of the Venezuelan opposition Edmundo González Urrutia has described his meeting as “fruitful and cordial.” In statements to the press outside the West Wing immediately after the meeting, the candidate recognized by Washington, the EU and other countries as the legitimate winner of the Venezuelan presidential elections declared that Biden “heartily accompanies” him on his trip. and “views with sympathy” his efforts to achieve the investiture as president of Venezuela. González Urrutia has also assured that he and his team remain in contact with President-elect Donald Trump and his advisors, and has expressed confidence that their relations will be “very close” throughout the Republican’s term.
In a statement, the White House has indicated that Biden and “President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia of Venezuela” addressed “joint efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela.” Both leaders, according to the presidential residence, “agreed that there is nothing more fundamental to the success of democracy than respecting the will of the people, expressed through a transparent and accountable electoral process, and that González Urrutia’s victory must be respected. through the peaceful transition back to a democratic system.”
Biden “reiterated his support for Venezuela’s democratic aspirations” and “underscored the United States’ commitment to continue putting pressure on Maduro and his representatives to hold them accountable for their undemocratic and repressive actions,” the White House says. That pressure, he adds, includes coordination with democratic allies in America and the rest of the world.
Regarding the meeting with Biden, which lasted half an hour and was not included in the president’s official program of activities disclosed by the White House, González Urrutia expressed his gratitude for the support that the Government has given him “in the fight for the democratic recovery of Venezuela.” “It is a commitment that we have and that we will be following until the president’s last day here in Washington,” he added in his statements from outside the West Wing.
Asked about opposition leader María Corina Machado’s call for Venezuelans to take to the streets on the occasion of the investiture, González Urrutia declared that “the recovery of democracy is everyone’s task.” The White House has noted in its statement that Biden “will closely follow the demonstrations planned for January 9 in Venezuela.” The US president has also stressed that “Venezuelans must be allowed to express their political opinions peacefully and without fear of reprisals from the armed forces and police.”
Regarding contacts with the incoming US Administration of Donald Trump, the opposition leader stated: “We are going to continue with the same bipartisan policy that we have had from the beginning, and with this we are going to ensure that the path to the restoration of democracy be as soon as possible.”
The visit to the White House – surrounded in white by the heaviest snowfall in the capital in at least three years – is the one in which he seeks to gather the greatest number, and the greatest possible intensity, of support for his intention to be inaugurated president of Venezuela. next Friday the 10th, when Nicolás Maduro is scheduled to be six years old.
The Venezuelan electoral council proclaimed Maduro the winner of the elections held on July 28, although the authorities in Caracas have never presented official records confirming that result, unlike previous elections. On the other hand, the opposition has presented evidence, the counts of 80% of the Venezuelan voting machines, to defend that the real winner was González Urrutia, who according to these data obtained twice as many votes as his Chavista rival.
The Carter Center, which sent observers to those elections at the invitation of Maduro, has declared that the minutes released by the opposition are legitimate.
Despite this evidence against his legitimacy as future president, Maduro has already received an invitation from the Venezuelan National Assembly to take the oath of office next Friday, the date set by law for the new head of state to take office.
“Pure straw”
The Venezuelan Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, reiterated this Monday that the Chavista leader will be sworn in on Friday and has reiterated that González Urrutia, who in September went into exile to Spain after a judge issued an arrest warrant against him, will be detained. if he ever sets foot in Venezuela. According to Cabello, the possibility of the opposition candidate’s return is “pure straw.” “It takes courage to do that, willingness; “But he has no courage or disposition, he would have stayed here with his people,” instead of leaving the country, he added.
The Government of Venezuela broke diplomatic relations with Paraguay this Monday after “categorically” rejecting the statements of support by the president of that country, Santiago Peña, for González Urrutia, which the Executive of Nicolás Maduro described as ignorance of international law and the “ principle of non-intervention,” reports Efe.
Last week, the Chavista Government offered a reward of $100,000 for information on the whereabouts of the former diplomat that would allow his arrest. and border crossings. The regime has also ordered its bases of militants and officials to continue mobilizing in the streets, considering that the country is “facing a threat.”
After his meeting with Biden at the White House, the Venezuelan opposition leader plans to meet at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) with the secretary general, Luis Almagro, and other representatives of the Pan-American institution. Several associations of opposition supporters have called for a rally in front of the doors of the OAS to express their support for González Urrutia.
The opposition leader’s stop in Washington is the third of his tour, which he intends to end in Caracas. The first stage was Buenos Aires, where; It was followed by a meeting with the Uruguayan head of state, Luis Lacalle Pou. He also plans to visit Panama and the Dominican Republic.
The details of the trip are gradually becoming known. On Sunday night, González Urrutia himself confirmed his arrival in Washington through a message on social networks, in which he declared “Third stop: Washington DC” and showed a photo of himself inside a car with a folder of documents.
