Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González, who claims victory in last year's presidential election, will meet with President Biden at the White House on Monday. A senior administration official confirmed the meeting to the Associated Press. This visit comes as González seeks international support for his claim against President Nicolás Maduro.
González's meeting with Biden follows a tour of South America. He visited Argentina and Uruguay over the weekend, and he has called on Venezuelan exiles in the Washington, D.C., area to rally outside OAS offices. The visit underscores the ongoing dispute over the election outcome.
Meanwhile, Maduro, backed by the National Assembly, has been invited to begin his third term. This invitation arrives more than five months after the National Electoral Council declared him the victor. Crucially, unlike prior elections, detailed vote counts were not released.
The opposition, however, collected vote tallies from a majority of voting machines and posted them online. These tallies, according to the opposition, show González winning by a significant margin over Maduro.
The U.S. and most European nations have rejected the official election results, recognizing González as the legitimate winner. This international opposition highlights the deep divisions surrounding Venezuela's political future.
