President Biden met with the leader of the Venezuelan opposition on Monday Edmundo González at the White House ahead of the inauguration in Venezuela on Friday President Nicolas Maduro for his third term after theirs highly contested elections.
The United States and many European countries rejected Maduro’s claim to have won the election, which was upheld by Venezuela’s Supreme Court in August. In November, the US government recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González as the newly elected president.
The White House announced that Mr. Biden spoke with González about the restoration of democracy in Venezuela and that Gonzalez’s “campaign victory should be honored with a peaceful return to democratic rule.” Mr. Biden also said he would monitor plans for protests on January 9.
Mr. Biden said at his meeting that the U.S. would continue to hold Maduro and his representatives accountable for their anti-democratic and repressive actions, according to an official White House statement.
González told reporters that they had a long, fruitful and cordial conversation and thanked Mr. Biden for his support. His team is also in contact with President-elect Donald Trump’s team.
González’s visit to the White House is the first stop on an international tour of defiance against the Venezuelan inauguration and gathering international support. He has been living in exile in Spain since a Venezuelan judge issued an arrest warrant following July’s presidential election.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner of the election a few hours after the polls closed. Electoral bodies did not provide a detailed number of votes, unlike previous presidential elections.
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Ahead of the election, the United States struck a deal with the Maduro government that the U.S. would temporarily lift some sanctions on Venezuelan oil and gas in exchange for a commitment to free and fair elections.
The Maduro regime did not live up to its end of the deal and sanctions were reimposed. In September, the US sanctioned 180 Venezuelan officials for not accepting election results and human rights abuses, including killings, repression and mass detentions of protesters.
