Maria Corina Machado asks Spain to lead the recognition of Gonzalez Urrutia as president

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday denounced the “wave of repression” that the country is experiencing. She asked the international community to respond by recognizing the victory of Edmundo González Urrutia as president-elect, in a “new step” that Spain hopes to lead in Europe.

“We need Europe to be with us and Maduro must know that the world is not going to turn the page. Countries that have dialogue with Maduro can do a lot,” he added.

He considered it urgent that the world recognise González as the next president and he trusts that Spain will play a leading role in this regard: “I would like to see Spain leading Europe in the recognition of Edmundo González as president-elect.”

Machado asks to be alert for Edmundo González

“The next raid could be at Edmundo González’s house,” The leader predicted, in reference to the three summons of the Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office to the presidential candidate regarding an investigation against him related to the accusation of electoral fraud made by Chavismo.

“What will happen then?” the opposition leader asked in a telematic press conference with Spanish media.

Machado referred to the latest arrests of people close to the opposition coalition, which add to the more than 2,400 citizens arrested in the last month.

BREAKING NEWS | María Corina Machado denounces that “in the next few hours” the “house of the president-elect Edmundo González” could be raided.

“I want to see a global reaction so that we understand what this is all about.” https://t.co/Rn0l3tvMgg pic.twitter.com/5ASxt3IdSD

— AlbertoRodNews (@AlbertoRodNews) August 29, 2024

He believes that the appointment of Diosdado Cabello as head of the Interior in Venezuela is “an internal signal that seeks to spread terror, but will not succeed in intimidating the country«.

He said that Nicolás Maduro “has to know that this carnage has a cost” and that using violence “delegitimizes him.”

“Maduro believes that the world will turn the page because another conflict will come and Venezuela will be forgotten, but that is not going to happen because the Venezuelan struggle has become an international struggle and, in addition, it is an internal problem for many countries because drug trafficking networks have a sanctuary in Venezuela,” he insisted.

In his opinion, Venezuela needs an “urgent solution because, in addition to the repression, the country’s economy is deteriorating rapidly and emigration is out of control.”

The opposition believes “in the need for a transition and is willing to negotiate, based on the election results, but the regime shows no signs of wanting to do so,” according to Machado.

That is why “internal and external pressure must be maintained” and, at this point, “the international community has an essential role.”

But the position of the countries seeking a solution for Venezuela “cannot be to continue asking the Maduro government to publish the electoral records, because it will not do so. The next step must be to recognize Edmundo González as the elected president.”

Regarding the mediation of Brazil and Colombia to reach a negotiated solution, the leader considers that it is a good initiative, “but it must be accelerated or else it could take too long.”