US vows to 'defend return to democracy' in Venezuela - DW

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised on Tuesday (09/17/2024) the former presidential candidate for the main Venezuelan opposition platform, Edmundo González Urrutia, and the main opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, that the United States “will continue to advocate for a return to democracy in Venezuela.”

In a phone call with the opposition, the North American country's top diplomat also said he would “strive to ensure that the will of the Venezuelan electorate is respected and that” President Nicolas Maduro and his representatives are held accountable, spokesman Matthew Miller of the State Department said in a statement.

Likewise, Blinken praised González Urrutia and Machado’s “courage and commitment to democratic principles in the face of brutal repression and adversity.” The memo does not specify whether they spoke of eventual recognition of González Urrutia as the elected president, something Machado, the main Venezuelan opposition leader, has been calling for from the international community for days.

Sanctioned officials

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council declared Maduro re-elected in the July 28 presidential election without publishing the voting records, a result that has been disputed both inside and outside the country. Blinken’s call with Venezuelan opposition representatives came days after Washington imposed sanctions on 16 Maduro regime officials for “election fraud.”

The main opposition coalition led by Machado, the Democratic Platform of Unity, declared the winner of the election, led by its standard-bearer González Urrutia, whose victory was recognized by the United States. González Urrutia recently went into exile in Spain to denounce judicial and political persecution in Venezuela, but Machado insists that the candidate will be sworn in as president on January 10.

DZC (EFE, AFP)