U.S. says opposition beat Maduro in Venezuela elections
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Opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia rides on top of a truck during a protest against the official results of the presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday. Photo: Pedro Rances Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images
The U.S. State Department said Thursday that it is recognizing opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as the rightful winner of Venezuela's presidential elections.
Why it matters: President Nicolás Maduro has claimed, without evidence, that he won Sunday's contest. The U.S. government says there is "overwhelming evidence" González won.
Catch up quick: Ahead of the election, Maduro banned opposition leader María Corina Machado from running. González ran in her place, though she campaigned with him.
- Without releasing a tally, the Maduro-aligned electoral commission, CNE, declared him the winner with 51% of the vote.
- But the opposition says it has tallies from 80% of precincts that show González easily beating the deeply unpopular Maduro, who has governed over a massive economic crisis while further dismantling the country's democratic institutions.
Driving the news: The U.S. on Monday said it had "serious concerns" about the fairness of the election results but did not outright denounce them.
- On Thursday, the State Department said in a press release that the results from CNE "were deeply flawed, yielding an announced outcome that does not represent the will of the Venezuelan people."
- The State Department did not say the U.S. would formally recognize González as the president of Venezuela, as the Trump administration did with former opposition leader Juan Guaidó in 2019. That followed another election allegedly stolen by Maduro.
- "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," the statement says.
- "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."
State of play: At least 11 people have been killed during protests against Maduro this week, and hundreds more have been detained, according to the human rights group Foro Penal.
- While pressure has mounted on Maduro to release the votes, there haven't been significant legal avenues to make him do so.
- An emergency resolution by the Organization of American States asking for Venezuela to make public all voting tallies did not get enough votes Wednesday after Colombia and Brazil abstained.
- Before the meeting, OAS leadership said Maduro must open up his regime's vote count for scrutiny or redo the presidential elections, given the widespread allegations of mass fraud.
What we're watching: Maduro says he is a victim of an attempted coup and denies any wrongdoing.
- On Wednesday, he filed a motion before the Venezuelan Supreme Court that asks it to investigate acts of "destabilization" against the electoral process.
- The move is likely an attempt to give a greater institutional strength to his claims of victory in Sunday's contested elections, observers say. The court is led by Maduro allies.
Go deeper... In photos: Protests against Maduro erupt
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