Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who claimed victory in the troubled nation’s disputed recent election, met this Saturday with Argentina’s President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires.
Hundreds of Venezuelans living in Argentina turned out to support him, just days before Nicolás Maduro's contentious inauguration in Caracas.
González Urrutia, a 75-year-old former diplomat, arrived discreetly in Buenos Aires late Friday night from Madrid, where he has been in exile since September.
He is embarking on a regional tour that will also take him to Uruguay on Saturday, Panama on Wednesday, and the Dominican Republic on Thursday.
Milei reaffirmed his support for Venezuela's opposition during the half-hour meeting.
"We are doing what the cause of freedom requires, no more and no less," Milei told González Urrutia as they shook hands inside government house.
At the conclusion of talks, the Argentine leader invited the Venezuelan onto the building's balcony to wave to his supporters. The pair were accompanied by the Venezuelan leader's wife, Mercedes López, Argentina's Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein and Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei.
In a post on social media, the Venezuelan leader later wrote: "One of the most exciting moments I have ever experienced! Venezuelans, we will also meet on the streets of our beloved country."
González Urrutia later added he was traveling to the United States on Sunday and that he would talk with US President Biden would take place.
US$100,000 reward
González Urrutia says that he will take office as Venezuela’s president on Friday, replacing Maduro, but that is unlikely to pass.
A reward of US$100,000 has been offered this week by Venezuelan police for information leading to his capture.
The candidate, who served as ambassador to Buenos Aires in the early 2000s, stated on X: “Twenty-two years later, I return as the elected president of my country.”
Groups of Venezuelans gathered to welcome him in Plaza de Mayo, the central square outside the Casa Rosada where the meeting with Milei took place.
With flags and placards reading messages like "Venezuela, you are not alone," supporters and Maduro critics chanted "Freedom, freedom!" amidst street vendors selling arepas, traditional Venezuelan cornmeal bread.
Luis Soto, a 27-year-old Venezuelan student who emigrated to Argentina over six years ago, held up a sign that read: "Do what is necessary, President."
“These will be difficult days as we work to escape the tyranny we face,” he told the AFP news agency. “The decisions won’t be easy, but we trust him to do what’s necessary.”
On Saturday afternoon, González Urrutia is scheduled to meet with Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou and Foreign Minister Omar Paganini in Montevideo.
González Urrutia was the united opposition’s candidate in the disputed July 28 elections following the disqualification of popular opposition leader María Corina Machado.
He went into exile in Spain after being accused by Venezuela’s Prosecutor's Office of “conspiracy” and “criminal association.”
Venezuela’s electoral authorities declared Maduro re-elected for a third consecutive six-year term (2025–2031) but have yet to release full election results.
The opposition alleges widespread fraud, claiming González Urrutia's victory based on the publication of 85 percent of electoral tallies on a website.
“Maduro will never be able to show a single tally sheet because we won across the entire country, and they know it,” Machado posted on X this Saturday, claiming that González Urrutia secured 67 percent of the vote, according to their count.
Argentina, along with the United States, the European Union, and several Latin American countries, have not recognised Maduro’s re-election.
The Chavista leader’s proclamation of victory has sparked protests resulting in 28 deaths, approximately 200 injuries, and 2,400 arrests. Three detainees have died in custody, and nearly 1,400 have been released on conditional terms.
Maduro is preparing to take the oath for a new term with the backing of the Armed Forces, whose high command has declared “absolute loyalty” to him.
González Urrutia’s visit to Argentina coincides with heightened tensions between Caracas and Buenos Aires following the detention in Venezuela of Argentine Gendarmerie (Border Guard) officer Nahuel Gallo, accused of “terrorism.”
Buenos Aires has complained to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and International Criminal Court (ICC).
Relations between Milei and Maduro were already strained but have fully broken down since Argentina refused to recognise Venezuela's election results.
The Argentine Embassy in Caracas, now under Brazil’s protection, has been sheltering six collaborators of Machado accused of “terrorism” since March.
One renounced asylum in December and surrendered to the authorities, while the remaining five are awaiting safe passage to leave the country.
– TIMES/AFP
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