US government recognizes opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner of the elections in Venezuela

• Discrediting Results Declaring Nicolás Maduro as the Winner
• Governments of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico Pressure Maduro
• They Demand Detailed Voting Data and Allow Impartial Verification

On Thursday, the U.S. government recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner of Venezuela’s presidential election.

By doing so, the U.S. discredits the results announced by electoral authorities that declared President Nicolás Maduro as the victor.

«Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the U.S., and most importantly, to the Venezuelan people, that Edmundo González Urrutia obtained the majority of the votes in the July 28 presidential election in Venezuela.»

That’s what was said by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement, according to The Associated Press.

U.S. Recognizes Edmundo González as the Winner in Venezuela

The National Electoral Council declared Maduro as the winner of the highly anticipated Sunday election.

However, Maduro’s main rival, Edmundo González, and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado claimed to have over two-thirds of the voting records that each electronic voting machine printed after polls closed.

They said that publishing those results would prove that Maduro lost.

The U.S. government’s announcement came amid diplomatic efforts to persuade Maduro to release the election results.

There are also growing calls for an independent review of the results, according to officials from Brazil and Mexico.

Government officials from Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico have been in constant communication with Maduro’s administration.

This is to convince him to release the voting records from Sunday’s election and allow for impartial verification, a Brazilian government official told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The governments of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico issued a joint statement urging Venezuelan electoral authorities to «move quickly and publicly release» the detailed voting data.

Thousands of Supporters Take to the Streets

However, they did not confirm any behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to persuade Maduro’s government to release the election results.

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

On Monday, after the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner, thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets.

The government reported the arrest of hundreds of protesters, and the Venezuelan human rights organization, Foro Penal, said 11 people were killed.

Dozens more were arrested the next day, including former opposition candidate Freddy Superlano.

Opposition leader Machado — who was disqualified from running for president — and González addressed a large rally of their supporters in the capital, Caracas, on Tuesday, but have not been seen in public since.

Later that day, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez called for their arrest, labeling them as criminals and fascists.

In an op-ed published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal, Machado said she is «in hiding, fearing for my life, my freedom, and that of my compatriots.»

Maduro Lost the Election, They Claim

She reaffirmed that the opposition has physical evidence that Maduro lost the election and urged the international community to intervene.

«We have voted Mr. Maduro out of power,» she wrote. «It is now up to the international community to decide whether to tolerate a demonstrably illegitimate government.»

On Wednesday, Maduro called on Venezuela’s highest court to conduct an audit of the election.

But that request drew almost immediate criticism from foreign observers, who said the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review.

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