MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine FM recognizes González Urrutia's win

Despite Mondino's posting on X, Buenos Aires will postpone a statement until the safety of the asylum-seekers is secured

Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino said opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia had won Sunday's presidential elections in Venezuela. “Without any doubt, he is the legitimate winner and President-elect,” she stressed on X in defiance of the National Electoral Council's (CNE) announcement in Caracas assuring the incumbent Nicolás Maduro had triumphed.

Mondino also questioned the pro-Government CNE's delay in releasing the minutes of each polling table. Her message came after the Argentine diplomatic staff vacated the Embassy in the Venezuelan capital where six opposition asylum-seekers were left behind in the custody of Brazilian custodians now representing Buenos Aires' interests.

“Maduro must step down from power,” Mondino insisted.

At Casa Rosada, Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni pointed out that “in the world, there cannot be a dictator ruling a people. It cannot happen and unfortunately, this is what has been happening in Venezuela for a long time.”

“There is a new fraudulent election, but Chavismo has been destroying Venezuela for many years. Chavismo has expelled millions of Venezuelans from their land and has impoverished 90% of its population,” he added.

Maduro's government is “a dictatorial government that today the Venezuelan people decided to reject” and therefore “must step aside,” Adorni also underlined. In his view, the “advantage in votes that the opposition had is overwhelming.”

Peru and the United States have also recognized the opposition's victory through their respective top diplomats.

Despite Mondino's posting, Presidential Advisor Santiago Caputo was reported to have postponed Buenos Aires' final statement regarding the elections' results out of concerns for the safety of the asylum seekers, according to TN.

“Until we do not remove the asylum seekers who are in our embassy, we are not going to make any institutional pronouncement. The Government intends that González be president, but we do not think it is prudent to hinder the operation. [Mondino's] tweet was a mistake,” TN quoted an unidentified Government official as saying.

According to the outlet, the Argentine Foreign Ministry was working with the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE) to remove the asylum seekers by air.

Milei, who first validated Mondino's message, was also said to be planning a summit in Argentina with the presidents of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Uruguay to discuss the Venezuelan crisis.