Antony Blinken refuses to acknowledge Nicolás Maduro's victory

The United States questions whether the result declaring Nicolás Maduro the winner in the Venezuelan presidential elections "reflects the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people," stated Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday. During an official trip to Japan, Blinken expressed his "serious concern that the announced result does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people."

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado claims they won "70%" of the votes and rejected Maduro's reelection, which was announced by the pro-government electoral authority with 51.2% of the votes. Machado was unable to run due to political disqualification. Instead, opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia participated.

U.S. rejects Venezuelan election

With the Venezuelan electoral authority already proclaiming Maduro's reelection for a third consecutive six-year term, Blinken called for a "fair and transparent" recount of the votes. He stressed the vital importance of counting every vote with these values.

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In the communiqué, Blinken praised Venezuelans' "courage" for participating in the elections and their "commitment to democratic principles in the face of repression and adversity." Electoral authorities reported that 51.20% of the votes, over five million, were for Nicolás Maduro.

Due to fraud allegations, the U.S. did not recognize Maduro's reelection in 2018.

Venezuela has been subjected to a series of U.S. sanctions - including an oil and gas embargo - since 2019 as a pressure measure by the administration of then-Republican President Donald Trump to attempt to topple Maduro.

Contrary to Trump's hardline approach, who is once again a candidate for the White House in the November elections, the administration of his Democratic successor, Joe Biden, has favored diplomatic dialogue with Caracas while maintaining key sanctions.

Joe Biden used sanctions as a bargaining chip, easing them as a reward for Nicolás Maduro's commitments or concessions to lay the groundwork for the elections held this Sunday, July 28, 2024, and reimposing them when Caracas failed to fulfill its promises.

According to the human rights NGO Foro Penal, since January, there have been "149 arbitrary political arrests," of which 135 are "directly linked" to González Urrutia's campaign.

With information from AFP