President Biden met with Venezuelan opposition leader Monday Edmundo Gonzalez at the White House before Venezuela’s inauguration on Friday of President Nicolas Maduro for his third term after their hotly contested electionn, a White House official told CBS News.
The United States and many European countries have rejected Maduro’s claim to win the election, which was certified by Venezuela’s Supreme Court in August. In November, the U.S. government recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González as president-elect.
González’s visit to the White House is the first stop on an international tour challenging 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 hours after polls closed. Election authorities did not provide detailed vote counts, unlike in previous presidential elections.
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Before the election, the United States reached an agreement with the Maduro government that it would temporarily lift certain sanctions on Venezuelan oil and gas in exchange for a commitment to free and fair elections.
The Maduro regime did not respect its commitments and sanctions were reinstated. In September, the United States sanctioned 180 Venezuelan officials for rejecting election results and committing human rights violations, including killings, repressions and mass detentions of protesters.