US puts pressure on Maduro –

WASHINGTON (EFE).— The United States yesterday asked Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to admit that Edmundo González Urrutia won the majority of votes, after the electoral authority declared his reelection in elections that are questioned by the opposition and part of the international community.

Opposition candidate González Urrutia, from the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), “obtained the majority of votes, and that is clear. And what we have said over and over again, and will continue to say, is that Maduro must recognize this,” said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre at a press conference.

The spokeswoman added that the Biden administration will continue to consider options “to encourage and pressure Maduro to recognize the results of the elections” of July 28.

Although, he insisted, “the responsibility lies with Maduro, with the Venezuelans, with the electoral authorities, to tell the truth about the election results. It is clear that Edmundo has the majority of the votes. And Maduro must recognize this.”

The United States rejects Maduro’s victory, which was proclaimed by the National Electoral Council (CNE) after the elections of July 28, without having yet broken down the electoral results.

The governments of Colombia, Brazil and Mexico, which have relations with Maduro, are trying to lead a mediation effort to find a way out of the crisis.

The crisis in Venezuela has sparked multiple protests against the official results, resulting in at least 25 deaths, according to several NGOs, and more than 2,400 arrests, according to official figures.

In Miami, the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) yesterday rejected the charges of terrorism and incitement to hatred against four journalists ordered by the Maduro government and condemned the increase in arbitrary arrests, censorship and blockades against the press in Venezuela.

The IAPA expressed its condemnation of the attacks and harassment against media outlets that cover the protests against the official results that have spread since the presidential elections.