WASHINGTON.- Eleven days after the inauguration of the new Government of Venezuelathe Secretary of State of USA, Antony Blindenhad a conversation with the president-elect Edmundo González Urrutia and the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, Maria Corina Machado.
This was reported by the State Department spokesperson, Matthew Millerthrough a statement, in which he indicated that during the brief talk Blinden reaffirmed US support for the opposition leaders, who today are victims of regime persecutionwhich keeps Machado in hiding and González Urrutia in forced exile.
“Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to support the will of the Venezuelan people as expressed at the pollsthe peaceful restoration of democracy in Venezuela and the release of all unjustly detained political prisoners,” reads the text, published on the government agency’s website.
This talk takes place at a time of uncertainty for the South American country due to the imminent swearing-in of the new Venezuelan president for the 2025-2031 presidential period, scheduled for January 10.
Blinken praises opposition resilience
In the last presidential elections, held on July 28, the opposition achieved an overwhelming victory with nearly 70% of the votes in favor of the diplomat González Urrutiawhich was demonstrated by collecting the electoral records that, to date, the Chavista National Electoral Council (CNE) has not published.
After these elections were held, the dictator Nicolás Maduro, who insists on perpetrating electoral fraud, unleashed a fierce repression that left at least 24 protesters killedmost of them by firearms and more than 2,400 political prisoners, five of them died in custody of the regime.
According to Miller, the US Secretary of State stressed to Venezuelan leaders that US solidarity remains “with the international community in expressing our condemnation of Maduro’s undemocratic actions.”
“The secretary also praised the resilience of the democratic opposition and the commitment of the Venezuelan people to democracy in the face of repression and adversity,” he noted.
Swearing-in on January 10
The opposition leader María Corina Machado has published a series of messages on her social networks aimed at Venezuelans, urging them to defend the will expressed on July 28. The last of them, released on Saturday, December 28, was sent directly to the police and military officials who support the Maduro regime, to “tear down the last obstacle” that separates the South American country from freedom.
In 11 days, the swearing-in of González Urrutia is expected, who stated that he would return to Venezuela, where he was forced to leave due to persecution by the regime, to take office on January 10.
However, his return to the country is conditioned by actions of the Chavista dictatorshipwho insists on wanting to swear in Maduro, despite having lost the elections and has threatened the opposition leadership with jail, whom he accuses of an alleged “continued conspiracy” to destabilize the oil country.
