US announcement follows months of frustration over Maduro government’s claims of victory in contested July election.

The United States has recognised Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as the country’s rightful president-elect, following a July election in which President Nicolas Maduro was accused by his domestic opponents of falsely claiming victory.

The US has also cast doubt on Maduro’s claims of success in the election, which pre-election polls had shown him on track to lose by a large margin. Maduro’s government has refused calls to release data that could confirm his victory.

“The Venezuelan people spoke resoundingly on July 28 and made Edmundo Gonzalez-Urrutia the president-elect,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a social media post on Tuesday.

“Democracy demands respect for the will of the voters.”

The Venezuelan people spoke resoundingly on July 28 and made @EdmundoGU the president-elect. Democracy demands respect for the will of the voters.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 19, 2024

The US and numerous governments across Latin America have refused to recognise Maduro’s victory, widely viewed with scepticism and followed by a harsh post-election crackdown by the Venezuelan government.

The country’s opposition, which faced prosecution of several top candidates in the months preceding the July 28 election, has also collected tally sheets purporting to show that they beat Maduro by a two-to-one margin.

It remains to be seen what impact, if any, the recognition of Gonzales by the administration of US President Joe Biden will have. The opposition leader has fled to Spain but has said he would return to the country on January 10, when the new presidential term begins.

While the Biden administration had previously stated that the opposition won the most votes, it had stopped short of recognising Gonzalez as the country’s leader, possibly out of a desire to find a diplomatic resolution to the impasse with the Maduro government.

Venezuela has faced growing diplomatic isolation following the contested election. While Washington has long had icy relations with Caracas, and even taken steps to overthrow previous governments, regional leaders on previously amicable terms with Maduro have grown more impatient with the government.

“I think the elections were a mistake,” left-wing Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Tuesday, adding that they had not been “free”.

In August, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who had previously emphasised the need for an easing of sanctions against Venezuela which have contributed to the country’s economic turmoil, said the Maduro government was a “very unpleasant regime”.