The acknowledgment is a strong switch in relations between the United States and Venezuela. It is the first time that Blinken or the U.S. has publicly admitted they felt President Nicolas Maduro lost the election and that Gonzalez was the rightful winner. Blinken debuted the new title and recognition for Gonzalez in a post on X on Tuesday. 

“The Venezuelan people spoke resoundingly on July 28 and made @EdmundoGU the president-elect,” Blinken posted. “Democracy demands respect for the will of the voters.”

Venezuela’s incumbent, the authoritarian leader Maduro, faced off with Gonzalez in a presidential election on July 28. There was much controversy surrounding the election as Maduro’s ruling administration did not immediately release the results. Both Maduro and Gonzalez declared victory on the day of the election. Later, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, a Maduro ally in the country’s government, said Maduro had won the election by receiving 51% of the vote and declared him the winner. 

However, exit polls rebutted the claim and showed Gonzalez had a significant lead over Maduro. Additionally, Gonzalez’s opposition party claimed it obtained voter tallies from the election, which revealed Gonzalez was the rightful victor in the presidential election. Waves of protests were held in the country objecting to the election. 

However, the Maduro regime did not budge and began cracking down on dissenters. Protesters, demonstrators, and even some journalists were jailed. Gonzalez was forced to flee the country as his life was in danger. He requested and received asylum in Spain. 

“It is clear to the United States, to democratic nations around the world, and to independent international organizations that observed the July 28 elections that opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes. That makes him the president-elect,” a representative from the State Department told CNN. “The Venezuelan people overwhelmingly and unequivocally expressed their desire for democratic change—the publicly available voting tally sheets say so.”

Gonzalez was grateful for the acknowledgment. He released a statement thanking the U.S. for doing so. 

“We deeply appreciate the recognition of the sovereign will of all Venezuelans,” Gonzalez said. “This gesture honors our people’s desire for change and the civic feat that we carried out together on July 28.”

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However, the Maduro regime did not take Blinken’s words kindly. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil blasted Blinken’s words and acknowledgment of Gonzalez as president-elect as “ridiculous.” 

“‘The only place you can’t come back from is from being ridiculous,’ so goes the popular saying,” Gil posted on X. “However, Blinken, a self-confessed enemy of Venezuela, insists on doing it again.”