Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier González-Olaechea announced that his government recognizes opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia as Venezuela’s president-elect. “This position is shared by numerous countries, governments and international organizations,” he told state-run TV Peru.
The Peruvian foreign minister was one of the most critical of the government of Nicolás Maduro after he was declared the winner of the presidential elections last Sunday.
In response, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil announced on social media on Tuesday night that the Venezuelan government had decided to break diplomatic relations with Peru.
“We are forced to make this decision after the reckless statements of the Peruvian foreign minister that ignore the will of the Venezuelan people and our Constitution,” says the message on his X account, formerly Twitter.
Maduro’s victory has been widely questioned, as the National Electoral Council (CNE) issued the result without presenting the minutes of the voting centers after a process characterized by opacity and controlled at all times by the government, according to denounced by opponents and international organizations.
González-Olaechea called the elections a “fraud” and described Maduro as “a person who wants to perpetuate himself in power through a dictatorship.”
The Foreign Minister said he had contacted Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado by telephone to express his solidarity with her and candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.
The Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) led by Machado opened a website where it uploaded copies of 73% of the minutes of Sunday’s elections, according to which González Urrutia had been the winner by a wide margin.
Tension in the region
Peru is one of seven Latin American countries involved in a diplomatic conflict with Venezuela following Sunday’s elections.
The Venezuelan government on Monday demanded the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel in Caracas from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
He also ordered the return of Venezuelan representatives in these seven countries, whom he accuses of “interventionist actions and statements” as well as of committing to “international fascism.”
The presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei, and Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, agreed with the Peruvian foreign minister, alleging “fraud” in Maduro’s proclamation.
The Panamanian government went a step further and announced the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel from Venezuela.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric described the election results as “hard to believe,” while Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou claimed that the vote count was “clearly flawed.”
Despite growing requests from these and other countries, Maduro’s government has not released detailed results of the official records from each of the voting centers, and has denounced – without presenting evidence – an alleged computer attack on the voting system, the authorship of which is attributed to opposition figures, including the leader María Corina Machado.
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