US congratulates Venezuela opposition leader in apparent victory over Maduro

The United States on Aug. 2 affirmed tat Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia received the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election as documented by what Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken described as “the democratic opposition’s extensive efforts to ensure a transparent accounting of the votes.”

US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller said that Blinken, who also spoke with Venezuela’s opposition member María Corina Machado, “expressed his concern for their safety and well-being following the election and condemned all political violence and repression” from the incumbent Nicolás Maduro.

“The Secretary applauded the Venezuelan people for their dedication to democracy in the face of significant challenges and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to supporting the process of re-establishing democratic norms in Venezuela,” Miller said. 

Blinken said at least 12 million Venezuelans “peacefully went to the polls and exercised one of the most powerful rights given to people in any democracy:  the right to vote. 

“Unfortunately, the processing of those votes and the announcement of results by the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) were deeply flawed, yielding an announced outcome that does not represent the will of the Venezuelan people,” he said. 

“The CNE’s rapid declaration of Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the presidential election came with no supporting evidence,” he added. “The CNE still has not published disaggregated data or any of the vote tally sheets, despite repeated calls from Venezuelans and the international community to do so.”

In the days since the election, Miller said the Biden administration has consulted widely with partners and allies around the world, “and while countries have taken different approaches in responding, none have concluded that Nicolás Maduro received the most votes this election. 

“Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election,” he said. 

Meantime, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union on Thursday expressed “solidarity with the people of Venezuela, who peacefully exercised their right to vote in large numbers on Jul. 28 to shape the future of their country.” 

They noted that independent domestic and international observers’ reports have raised “serious concerns about the announced results of Venezuela’s Presidential elections and about the way the electoral process was conducted, especially regarding the irregularities and lack of transparency in the final tabulation of the votes. 

“It is of paramount importance that the result reflects the will of the Venezuelan people,” the G7 Foreign Ministers said in a statement. “We call on relevant representatives to publish the detailed electoral results in full transparency, and we ask electoral representatives to immediately share all information with the opposition and independent observers.

“As the process unfolds, we call for maximum restraint in the country and for a peaceful, democratic and Venezuelan-led solution,” they added. 

The United Nations said on Wednesday that its Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela had voiced “deep concern” on over reports of human rights abuses following the weekend’s presidential election in Venezuela. 

The UN said the mission has received “credible accounts of detentions, injuries and fatalities linked to violence by security forces and armed civilian groups, known as colectivos, in the wake of President Nicolás Maduro’s declared victory.” 

The UN noted that the National Electoral Council announced Maduro as the winner early on July 29, “sparking nationwide protests.” 

“The Fact-Finding Mission has documented at least six deaths and numerous injuries among protesters as of Wednesday morning,” the UN said. “The Attorney General reported the death of a member of the armed forces and injuries of 46 military and police personnel. 

Mission Chair Marta Valiñas stressed the need for public order operations to adhere to international human rights standards, insisting that “the use of force must be proportional and aimed at safeguarding human life. 

“For its part, the Mission will remain very attentive and will investigate serious human rights violations occurring in the post-election context, in accordance with its mandate,” she said. “This includes analyzing the forces and individuals responsible for such violations.” 

The Fact-Finding Mission also noted that the Attorney General announced the detention of 749 people in the context of the protests, adding that while some have been released, others remain detained, the UN said.

It said that, among them, some face serious charges, such as terrorism. 

The UN said the Fact-Finding Mission was established by the UN Human Rights Council in September 2019 for a period of one year to assess alleged human rights violations committed since 2014. Its mandate has been extended until September 2024, the UN said. 

Meanwhile, the Washington-headquartered Organization of American States (OAS) said that the Office of the Secretary General has received a report from the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation regarding the presidential electoral process in Venezuela in 2024. 

“Throughout this entire electoral process, we saw the application by the Venezuelan regime of its repressive scheme complemented by actions aimed at completely distorting the electoral result, making that result available to the most aberrant manipulation,” it added. “The Maduro regime has mocked important actors of the international community during these years and once again went into an electoral process without guarantees, nor mechanisms and procedures to enforce those guarantees.” 

The OAS noted that the five-day delay in the publication of the electoral records is “the longest in the history of the region.”

It said those records were supposed to have been made public on Sunday night, and that, as of Friday, “they have not yet been published.”