Venezuela opposition leader recognized by US as election victor embarks on international tour

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González, who the United States recognized as the winner of last year’s presidential election, kicked off an international tour on Saturday that will take him to Washington just days before President Nicolás Maduro is set to be sworn in for a third term in defiance of international pressure.

A crowd of a few hundred Venezuelan migrants broke into shouts of “Edmundo, Presidente” as González emerged from a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei to wave to supporters from the balcony of the iconic Casa Rosada, or Pink House, in Buenos Aires.

“We are doing whatever the cause of freedom requires,” Milei, an effusive far-right supporter of the Venezuelan opposition, said as he welcomed González to the presidential palace with honors normally reserved for a head of state.

González, a retired diplomat, fled into exile in Spain in September after a judge issued an arrest warrant following the July 28 presidential election, in which Maduro was declared the winner by the National Electoral Council, which is stacked with governing party loyalists.

In recent weeks, he has been vowing to travel to Venezuela to be sworn in for the presidential term, which according to law must begin on Jan. 10. But he hasn’t said how he plans to return or wrest power from Maduro, whose party controls all institutions and the military.

“By whatever means necessary, I’m going to be there” on Jan. 10, González said.

On Thursday, Maduro’s government raised the stakes even further, announcing a $100,000 reward for information on González’s whereabouts and plastering the wanted-like bulletin with the retired diplomat’s photo on social media and the arrivals board at the country’s main airport.

González at a press conference said that he would travel Saturday night to the U.S., where he hopes to speak with President Joe Biden, following a brief stop in Uruguay for a meeting with President Luis Lacalle Pou. He also plans to visit Panama and the Dominican Republic as part of the impromptu regional tour.

González, who twice served as Venezuela’s ambassador to Argentina more than two decades ago, used his visit to highlight the plight of hundreds of Venezuelans who remain imprisoned as part of a post-election crackdown by Maduro.

During his meeting with Milei, the two discussed the well being of five Maduro opponents who have been sheltering in the Argentine ambassador’s residence in Caracas for nearly 10 months. Maduro’s government broke relations with Argentina and expelled its diplomats after Milei and other regional leaders refused to recognize Maduro’s reelection.

But it has denied the activists holed up in the diplomatic compound safe passage so they can take up exile in Argentina. As part of the diplomatic standoff, Maduro’s government last month also arrested an Argentine national guardsman as he was entering the country, accusing him of terrorism. Argentina said the officer, Nahuel Gallo, traveled to Venezuela to visit his wife and her family, who are from Venezuela.

An estimated 220,000 Venezuelans are believed to reside in Argentina — part of an exodus of more than 7 million who have fled political turmoil, economic chaos and political repression by Maduro since 2014.

Janet Avila, a 51-year old school teacher who left Venezuela two years ago, was among those gathered outside the presidential palace to greet González.

“I’m very grateful to the Argentines, they’ve been beautiful to me, but I want to go home, to be with my family,” she said.

The Biden administration and most European governments have rejected the election’s official results, pointing out that authorities didn’t provide detailed results as they have in past elections. Meanwhile, copies of tally sheets collected by the opposition from 85% of the nation’s electronic voting machines show that González prevailed by a more than two-to-one margin.

González, 75, was a previously unknown career diplomat when he was thrust into rallying the anti-Maduro coalition as a last-minute stand-in for opposition stalwart María Corina Machado, whom the government banned from running for office.