The United States has recognized Gonzalez, who arrived Sunday night, as the rightful winner of Venezuela’s recent presidential election, which was overshadowed by credible allegations of corruption.

He was slated to meet with Luis Almagro, the secretary general of the Organization of American States, later Monday afternoon.

Gonzalez has been in exile in Madrid since September amid an arrest warrant and a promise to be detained by Venezuelan authorities if he returns to his native country, which he has promised to do for the authoritarian leader’s inauguration on Friday.

The Biden administration has applied pressure on the South American country’s dictator to start peaceful transition talks amid calls for protesters to take to the streets.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Gonzalez and fellow opposition leader Maria Corina Machado days ago to express a U.S. condemnation of Maduro’s “anti-democratic actions” ahead of his inauguration.

Machado has called for massive demonstrations across Venezuela on Friday, which she described as “a crucial day for the nation.”

In a statement on Sunday, Gonzalez called on Venezuela’s military to “act with honor, merit and conscience, guided by the values that unite us as a fundamental institution of the Republic” as Maduro preps to begin a third term.

He said it is “necessary” to put an end to “a leadership that has distorted the fundamental and moral principles of our Armed Forces” and the “mission” as it was is to “restore popular sovereignty, expressed through the vote, and to ensure the peace and stability of our nation.”

“It is time to reaffirm our commitment to the homeland,” he added. “Starting from January 10, we must act with determination and unity to protect our Venezuela.”