Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, who lives in exile in Spain and whom the US recognized as the winner of Venezuela's presidential election last year, began a tour of several Latin American countries today, BTA reported, citing the Associated Press.
It takes place a few days before the swearing-in ceremony in Caracas on January 6 of Nicolas Maduro, re-elected for a third term in elections that the Venezuelan opposition says were manipulated.
In the first stage of his tour, Gonzalez met with Argentine President Javier Milley in Buenos Aires today. The meeting was held at the presidential building "Casa Rosada" and at one point, Gonzalez and Milley appeared on her balcony and were greeted by several hundred Venezuelan migrants gathered in front. They began chanting, “Edmundo, president.”
“We will do whatever the cause of freedom demands,” Milley told Gonzalez. Milley is a supporter of the Venezuelan opposition.
Gonzalez is a retired diplomat who fled to Spain in September to avoid arrest in his homeland because he had an arrest warrant issued by Maduro’s authorities.
On Thursday, Maduro announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to Gonzalez’s arrest. And on New Year's Eve, Gonzalez and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who lives in hiding, called on Venezuelans to protest on January 6.
Upon his arrival in Argentina, Gonzalez, who has twice served as ambassador there, posted a video message on social media expressing solidarity with those in Venezuelan prisons after being arrested during protests against Maduro's re-election. He said he would raise with Milley the situation of Venezuelan opposition figures who have sought refuge in the Argentine ambassador's residence in Caracas for 10 months. This has also led to a deterioration in relations between Venezuela and Argentina.
The administration of US President Joe Biden and most European governments have rejected the official results of the Venezuelan election and said that the authorities have not provided detailed information in this regard, as they have done in the past.
After Argentina, Gonzalez will visit Uruguay and then Panama.