On August 1, the Biden administration recognized González Urrutia as the winner of the elections, but had until now avoided declaring him "president-elect" of Venezuela.

The United States on Tuesday publicly recognized for the first time the standard-bearer of the majority opposition, Edmundo González Urrutia, as the president-elect of Venezuela following the elections of July 28.

"The Venezuelan people spoke out resoundingly on July 28 and named Edmundo González as president-elect. Democracy demands respect for the will of the voters," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on social media.

On August 1, the Biden administration recognized González Urrutia as the winner of the elections, but had until now avoided declaring him "president-elect" of Venezuela.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) declared the re-election of Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela in those elections, but the body has not published the minutes with the disaggregated results of the elections.

Exiled in Spain after elections

The Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), the country's main opposition coalition, presented a series of ballots that gave victory to its candidate, González Urrutia, who has been in exile in Spain since September, denouncing persecution by the Venezuelan authorities.

This is the first time that the United States has used the term "president-elect" to refer to Edmundo González Urrutia, a senior administration official confirmed to EFE .

The reason the Biden administration has decided to use this term is related to Maduro's imminent inauguration for a third term, which is scheduled for January 10.

According to the source, this designation does not imply that the United States recognizes González Urrutia as Venezuelan president, but it does emphasize its position of considering him the winner of the elections.