The White House on Thursday clarified a statement by President Joe Biden which seemed to support a redo of the presidential elections in Venezuela after some hours of controversy.
The events began when Biden was asked by a member of the press pool whether he would support such a scenario, considering that his Brazilian and Colombian counterparts, two regional power brokers, came in favor of it during the day. "I do," Biden said.
The answer catalyzed immediate reactions across the region given the departure from the country's current stance, which has been to recognize opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia as the winner of the elections.
A few hours later, a National Security Council issued a clarification. Speaking on background, the person said: "The president was speaking to the absurdity of Maduro and his representatives not coming clean about the July 28 elections. It is abundantly clear to the majority of the Venezuelan people, the United States, and a growing number of countries that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes on July 28. The United States again call for the will of the Venezuelan people to be respected and for discussions to begin on a transition back to democratic norms."
Cracks are beginning to appear in the sector of the international community that has not recognized Nicolás Maduro as the victor of the elections on the best way forward. Both Brazilian and Colombian Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro suggested on Thursday the country conducts new elections as a way out of the current crisis, ongoing after the Maduro government claimed victory without showing supporting data.
Speaking to a local radio station, Lula said the do-over could be one of two potential alternatives as the fallout continues, the other one being a coalition government. However, he did say that it's "still unclear" who won the elections as the data has not been independently verified.
"Maduro still has six months in office. If he has common sense, he could even call for new elections, creating an electoral committee with opposition members and overseers from all over the world," Lula said during a passage of the interview.
Petro, on his end, said that it is up to Maduro to reach a "political solution" for the country. He also suggested a coalition government among a series of other proposals, which include "the lifting of all sanctions against Venezuela, national and international general amnesty, provisional coalition government and new and free elections."
The idea has already been rejected by the Venezuelan opposition. Top official María Corina Machado told El País that she won't accept such a possibility, describing it as a "red line" in any negotiations with the government.
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