The U.S. clarifies that it does recognize Edmundo González as the winner of the Venezuelan elections and announces its support for the mediation of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia

The U.S. government does recognize opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the Venezuelan elections, as clarified Tuesday by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Mark Wells, in a call with the press in which VOZ was present.

"Our policy has not changed. Edmundo Gonzalez had the majority vote. We are now focused on working with both sides for a democratic transition," Wells said.

At a press conference Monday, Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States was refusing to proceed with Edmundo Gonzalez as it did with Juan Guaidó in 2019 when the White House recognized him as Venezuela's interim president.

That statement created the impression that the United States did not recognize Edmundo González Urrutia as Venezuela's president-elect.  According to the tally sheets, he won by a landslide in the July 28 Venezuelan elections.

However, this Tuesday, Wells clarified that the White House does not aspire is to repeat the bad experience with Guaidó, but "the position has not changed with respect to what Secretary Blinken said last week."

"The data analyzed by independent entities show that Edmundo Gonzalez obtained at least 66% of the votes. It is clear and everyone can see it," Wells said.

Likewise, the acting secretary assured that the United States supports the efforts of the governments of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia to push for a negotiation between Nicolás Maduro's regime and the Venezuelan opposition to reach an agreement.

"Countries that are pushing for a return to democracy are welcome. We are supporting the efforts of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.... We have demanded transparency and that the detailed vote count be disseminated," he said to a question posed by VOZ.

Finally, Wells called for "the parties" to initiate "a peaceful transition" as soon as possible.