Edmundo González, after assembly Biden on the White House: “We are committed to the fight for democracy in Venezuela” | International | EUROtoday

The chief of the Venezuelan opposition Edmundo González Urrutia has described his assembly this Monday on the White House with the president of the United States, Joe Biden, as “fruitful and cordial.” In statements to the press outdoors the West Wing instantly after the assembly, the candidate acknowledged by Washington, the EU and different international locations because the professional winner of the Venezuelan presidential elections declared that Biden “heartily accompanies” him on his journey. and “views with sympathy” his efforts to realize the investiture as president of Venezuela. González Urrutia has additionally assured that he and his workforce stay involved with President-elect Donald Trump and his advisors, and has expressed confidence that their relations will likely be “very close” all through the Republican’s time period.

In a press release, 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, in accordance with 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 stress, he provides, consists of coordination with democratic allies in America and the remainder of the world.

Regarding the assembly with Biden, which lasted half an hour and was not included within the president’s official program of actions disclosed by the White House, González Urrutia expressed his gratitude for the help 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 restoration of democracy is everybody’s process.” 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 icing on the cake of González Urrutia’s tour of America in which he seeks to collect the greatest number, and the greatest possible intensity, of support for his intention to be sworn in as president of Venezuela next Friday the 10th, when Nicolás Maduro plans to swear in a new six-year term.

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 this 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 braveness or disposition, he would have stayed right here along with his individuals,” 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. His photo has been displayed at airports 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 he met with the Argentine president, Javier Milei; 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 particulars of the journey are step by step turning into recognized. On Sunday night time, González Urrutia himself confirmed his arrival in Washington by a message on social networks, wherein he declared “Third stop: Washington DC” and confirmed a photograph of himself inside a automobile with a folder of paperwork.