Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez File photo: Reuters
Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez has had a “productive” meeting with US President Joe Biden. He also spoke at length with US President-elect Donald Trump’s security adviser. Gonzalez himself said this on Monday.
Edmundo Gonzalez declared himself the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election held in July last year and was recognized by many countries as the newly elected president. However, current President Maduro is reluctant to accept this.
In a post on social media, US President Biden said that the Venezuelan people deserve a peaceful transfer of power to the true winner of the presidential election. He said that Edmundo Gonzalez should be sworn in as president within the next four days. Biden made these comments at a time when Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is about to officially begin his third term.
Maduro has already been recognized as the winner of the election by Venezuela’s Supreme Court and electoral authorities. He will take office as president for a new term on January 10. Gonzalez traveled to the United States a few days ago as part of a regional tour.
Edmundo Gonzalez told reporters after meeting with Joe Biden at the White House, “We had a long and productive conversation with President Biden and his team.”
The Venezuelan government said in a statement that it was “strange” that Biden was supporting a violent project to undermine the country’s democracy.
The opposition in the Latin American country of Venezuela has released detailed results of the presidential election. It showed that Gonzalez won a landslide victory in the election. International observers also said that the presidential election was not fair and impartial. The Maduro government has not released detailed results of the vote.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez posted on X yesterday afternoon that he had a long meeting with Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Walz.
Gonzalez said, “Among the issues we discussed in detail was the issue of the Venezuelan protests that will take place on January 9th. He (Trump’s adviser) assured that the United States and the entire world will be vigilant about what happens in his country.”
The Maduro government has repeatedly said that opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez will be arrested as soon as he enters Venezuela. The leader is currently living in exile in Spain.
