Venezuela opposition leader won controversial election, U.S. says

Overwhelming evidence shows that Edmundo González Urrutia won Venezuela’s presidential election last weekend, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday. Current President Nicolás Maduro on Sunday claimed to have won. The National Electoral Council did not release full, detailed voting records. More than a dozen world leaders have questioned the validity of the election and have called on Venezuela’s election officials to publish detailed data from the election. In his statement, Blinken said the electoral council’s refusal to provide precinct-level official results stripped it of any credibility.

How have other nations responded? The leaders of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico on Thursday issued a joint statement urging Maduro to release detailed voting data so that the results could be verified impartially. Peru on Monday recalled its ambassador to Venezuela, and Venezuela expelled diplomats from six other countries.

Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Honduras President Xiomara Castro congratulated Maduro on his victory. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Bolivia President Luis Arce also threw support behind Maduro.