Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González and the president of the United States, Joe Biden, will hold a meeting this Monday, a source close to VOA confirmed.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, will meet this Monday morning with opposition leader Edmundo González, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, as part of an international tour that seeks to gather political support ahead of January 10, the day of the takeover in the South American country.
The United States recognizes González as the winner of the controversial presidential election last July 28 in Venezuela.
“It will be in the morning,” a source close to the meeting confirmed to VOA.
On Saturday, González clarified that his agenda in the United States is still in development, but he announced that he awaits “definitions” regarding the new authorities. President-elect Donald Trump will take office on January 20.
It also “considers meetings with political leaders represented in Congress.”
The Republican senator from Florida, Rick Scott said he was “eager” to meet with González during his visit to the United States.
“I am eager to meet with the elected president Edmundo González (…) I look forward to his fair inauguration as leader of Venezuela this January 10,” Scott said on the social network X. In his statements, he reaffirmed his support for the struggle of the Venezuelan people to recover freedom.
González's tour also includes a visit to the Organization of American States (OAS), on Monday after noon.
González will arrive in the United States after visits to Argentina and Uruguay, where he was received by presidents Javier Miliei and Luis Lacalle Pou, respectively.
The journey of the 75-year-old retired diplomat takes place days before the constitutionally established date for the presidential inauguration in Venezuela, which lives in uncertainty after the controversial elections, in which both President Nicolás Maduro and González claim victory. .
In last July's elections, which were widely questioned due to a lack of transparency and independent verification, Maduro was proclaimed the winner by the Electoral Power without the results sheets having been released so far.
González, against whom there is an arrest warrant and the authorities are offering $100,000 as a reward for information leading to his capture, has assured that he will return to Venezuela to assume the leadership of the State.
“By whatever means, I will be there (in Venezuela),” said González. when asked by local media about his plans to return to Venezuelan territory.
At the moment, the Maduro government has not commented on González's tour. In any case, special law enforcement forces were deployed in key points of the capital Caracas, and other areas of the territory, “for the defense of the country.”
At the beginning of the month, Maduro already accused the opposition and the United States of trying to turn January 10 into “a global takeover,” to lead Venezuela “down the path of chaos, destabilization” and call for foreign intervention. military.
Meanwhile, opposition leader María Corina Machado has ratified the call for protests throughout the country to reaffirm “the final defeat” of the government. Without making the movements clear, Machado called on Venezuelans to be “attentive” to upcoming announcements.
In any case, González's journey will continue in Panama and the Dominican Republic. On January 9, he will be received by President Luis Abinader, at the National Palace, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic. González will be accompanied by several former presidents.
The opponent explained on Saturday that he did not include Chile because President Gabriel Boric is outside the capital Santiago de Chile on official errands.
The United States, the European Union and dozens of other countries claim that Venezuelan electoral authorities manipulated the results of the July 28 election.
Some countries have recognized González Urrutia as the clear winner, while others, including Russia, recognize Maduro.