Biden Holds Meeting with Exiled Venezuelan Opposition Candidate

US President Joe Biden referred to Edmundo Gonzalez, the exiled Venezuelan opposition candidate, as "the true winner" of the country's presidential election last July following their meeting at the White House.

"This is a strong message that Venezuela deserves a peaceful transfer of power," said Biden on social media.

September in Spain-Gonzalez who left because of his country's crisis after elections that saw the incumbent president, Nicolas Maduro, announcing a victory largely disputed by Gonzalez and much of the world.

According to Reuters, Caracas reacted furiously to the meeting by dubbing it "grotesque," claiming that Biden was supporting a violent anti-democratic agenda.
On Friday, Maduro will be re-inaugurated.

Gonzalez, who is in exile in Spain, said people "manipulated" the presidential elections held in July and that he is the real winner.

Gonzalez is free to identify himself as an exile in Spain; claims the July presidential election was "manipulated" and argues he is the real winner.

This week, opposition leaders are calling for large-scale protests; al Madura's government has offered a reward of $100,000 to anyone with information that leads to Gonzalez's arrest.

The voting tallies-a comprehensive official breakdown of votes from every polling station have been the focus of controversy surrounding who had won the election.

The government-backed National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner but did not provide the tallies to support its assertion.

The opposition, supported by accredited election witnesses who gathered and released over 80% of the voting tallies, argues that these figures demonstrate Gonzalez was the clear winner.

In December, the UN Human Rights Committee instructed Venezuela "to refrain from destroying" the voting tallies from the July election.