Exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia said any democratic transition must recognise his claimed 2024 election victory, as Venezuela and the US hold exploratory talks on restoring diplomatic relations.
Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who is living in exile, said on Friday that any move towards a democratic transition in Venezuela must be based on acknowledgement of his claimed victory in the 2024 presidential election, which authorities declared was won by Nicolas Maduro, who has since been seized.
According to a statement issued by his press team, González Urrutia made the remarks during a phone conversation with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He said Venezuela’s democratic rebuilding hinges on formal recognition of the results of the July 28, 2024 vote.
Separately, the Venezuelan government said on Friday it had entered “exploratory” discussions with the United States over the possible restoration of diplomatic relations, which were severed in 2019 during the presidency of Nicolas Maduro, who has been removed from office.
The administration of interim President Delcy Rodríguez confirmed that US diplomats travelled to Caracas on Friday. A US official said the visit was linked to discussions on reopening the US embassy in Venezuela.
Caracas said it would respond by dispatching its own delegation to Washington.
Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump said he had scrapped plans for a second round of attacks on Venezuela after securing cooperation from the new leadership. He said the interim government had begun releasing prisoners nearly a week after Washington forcibly ousted the leftist president.
The United States was quickly forging ahead on Venezuela with Trump meeting oil executives, whom he says he wants to enrich, and US diplomats visiting Caracas to look at reopening the embassy shuttered for years.
Trump suggested he may use force again to get his way in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
“Venezuela is releasing large numbers of political prisoners as a sign of ‘Seeking Peace,’” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks,” he said.
US President Donald Trump said Friday he called off a second wave of attacks on Venezuela after securing cooperation with the new leadership, which began releasing prisoners nearly a week after Washington forcibly removed the leftist president.
The United States was quickly forging ahead on Venezuela with Trump meeting oil executives, whom he says he wants to enrich, and US diplomats visiting Caracas to look at reopening the embassy shuttered for years.
Trump suggested he may use force again to get his way in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
“Venezuela is releasing large numbers of political prisoners as a sign of ‘Seeking Peace,’” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks,” he said.
With inputs from agencies
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