Venezuela: US says opposition candidate beat Maduro

The United States on Thursday moved to recognize Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner of Venezuela's presidential election amid "overwhelming evidence."

"Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela's July 28 presidential election," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

On Monday, Venezuelan electoral authorities named President Nicolas Maduro the winner, triggering protests in the capital, Caracas.

The opposition and several foreign governments rejected the official results.

The government retaliated by arresting hundreds of demonstrators, while Venezuela-based human rights organization Foro Penal said 11 people were killed in protests.

What did the US say?

The US criticized Venezuela's electoral authority for not providing detailed vote counts, calling for a peaceful transition in line with Venezuelan electoral law.

"The announcement of results by the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) were deeply flawed, yielding an announced outcome that does not represent the will of the Venezuelan people," Blinken said.

Despite crippling US sanctions, Maduro has been able to keep his grip on power in Venezuela with the military, electoral bodies and other state institutions behind him even as a crashing economy led to social unrest.

Under Maduro, more than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014 — the largest exodus in recent Latin American history. 

What is the opposition saying?

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running in the election, said the opposition's tallies showed a total of 2.75 million votes for Maduro and 6.27 million for Gonzalez.

According to the electoral authority numbers, Maduro got 5.15 million votes and Gonzalez had 4.45 million.

Machado and Gonzalez addressed a huge rally of supporters in Caracas on Tuesday, but they have not been seen in public since.

In an op-ed published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal, Machado said she is "hiding, fearing for my life, my freedom, and that of my fellow countrymen."

"We have voted Mr. Maduro out," she wrote, saying that the opposition has physical evidence that Maduro lost the election. "Now it is up to the international community to decide whether to tolerate a demonstrably illegitimate government."

Machado called for protests "in every city" on Saturday to reject Maduro.

Jorge Rodriguez, the president of the National Assembly, termed the opposition members criminals and fascists and called for their arrest. Maduro's government, over the years, has forced many opposition leaders into exile.

Meanwhile, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico issued a joint statement on Thursday urging Venezuela's electoral authorities to "move forward expeditiously and publicly release" detailed voting data.

ss/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters)