US Backs Gonzalez as Venezuela's True Winner

US rejects Maduro's victory, endorses Gonzalez...

US recognizes opposition candidate Gonzalez as Venezuela's president, disputing Maduro's victory amid election controversy and calls for transparency.

The US government has acknowledged Edmundo Gonzalez, the Venezuelan opposition candidate, as the legitimate winner of the country's presidential election, contradicting the official results announced by the electoral authorities.

The US has dismissed the election outcome, which declared incumbent President Nicolas Maduro the winner, citing discrepancies and sparking widespread protests. Thousands of opposition supporters have taken to the streets to contest the results.

“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela's July 28 presidential election,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Thursday night.

Venezuela's National Electoral Council announced Maduro's victory in the highly contested election, but his main rival, Gonzalez, and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado disputed the outcome. They claimed to have collected over two-thirds of the tally sheets from electronic voting machines, which they believe will reveal the true winner.

Gonzalez and Machado asserted that the data from these tally sheets would conclusively show that Maduro did not win the election, and they demanded the release of this information to prove their claim.

The US government's recognition of Gonzalez as the winner came as diplomatic pressure mounted on Maduro to release the vote tallies and submit to an independent review of the election results. Officials from Brazil and Mexico revealed that efforts were underway to persuade Maduro to take these steps.

In a joint statement, the governments of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico urged Venezuela's electoral authorities to promptly and transparently release detailed voting data, amplifying the calls for accountability and clarity in the disputed election.

“The fundamental principle of popular sovereignty must be respected through impartial verification of the results,” they said in the statement.

Venezuelan authorities reported the arrest of hundreds of protesters, while local human rights group Foro Penal documented 11 fatalities in the aftermath of the contested election results, which declared Maduro the winner.

In the ensuing crackdown, dozens more were detained, including former opposition candidate Freddy Superlano. Opposition leaders Machado and González, who had rallied their supporters in Caracas, went into hiding after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez labeled them criminals and fascists and called for their arrest.

Maduro attributed the delay in releasing detailed vote counts to cyber-attacks and other threats against the National Electoral Council, but failed to provide further information.

Despite being close allies, the presidents of Colombia and Brazil have joined the chorus urging Maduro to release detailed vote counts, adding to the mounting pressure on the Venezuelan leader since the disputed election.

The National Electoral Council, widely seen as aligned with Maduro's United Socialist Party, has departed from its past practice of releasing voting machine-specific results, fueling suspicions and demands for greater transparency.

The National Electoral Council reported that Maduro garnered 5.1 million votes, surpassing Gonzalez's 4.4 million. However, opposition leader Machado disputed this, claiming that vote tallies actually showed Gonzalez winning with 6.2 million votes to Maduro's 2.7 million.

Since taking office in 2013, President Maduro has overseen a dramatic decline in Venezuela's fortunes. Once boasting Latin America's most advanced economy and the world's largest crude reserves, the country has suffered a devastating economic collapse under Maduro's rule, marked by hyperinflation, widespread unrest, and a massive exodus of over 7.7 million people.