Costa Rica claims that there was fraud in Venezuela and that the winner is Edmundo González

The Costa Rican government asked to respect “the sovereign will” / Photo: EFE

The Costa Rican government said on Friday that there was fraud in last Sunday’s elections in Venezuela and that the winner of those elections was opposition candidate Edmundo González.

“It is clear to Costa Rica that Nicolás Maduro did not receive the majority of votes from Venezuelans, so we refute the fraudulent proclamation that he won the elections, it being indisputable that Edmundo González received the majority support of the Venezuelan people,” said a statement from the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry on social media.

The Costa Rican government stressed that “the sovereign will must be respected” in Venezuela.

Costa Rica was one of the first countries to denounce fraud in Venezuela’s elections on Sunday night after it was announced that the National Electoral Council (CNE) had declared the reelection of Nicolás Maduro.

The Central American government on Monday joined Argentina, Chile, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay in a statement demanding transparency in the Venezuelan electoral process.

The Maduro government described the statement as “interventionist” and ordered the expulsion of diplomats from those seven countries.

However, since 2020, Costa Rica had already suspended its diplomatic relations with Venezuela with the closure of the embassy and the withdrawal of its staff. At this time, bilateral relations are limited to the consular sphere, which are carried out by Costa Rica from its consulates in Panama and Colombia.

Last Tuesday, Costa Rica offered political asylum to Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo González and opposition leader María Corina Machado after learning that there were arrest warrants against them.

Machado thanked the offer, but announced that he would remain in his country with the people who demand that González Urrutia be recognized as the winner.

San Jose / EFE