Venezuelan opposition leader met with Biden, spoke with Trump advisor

(Patria) - Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, who claims to have won the July presidential election and is recognized by several countries as the president-elect, said on Monday that he had a fruitful meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and spoke extensively with a national security advisor to the president-elect Donald Trump.

Gonzalez's visit to Washington comes as part of a regional tour just days before President Nicolas Maduro, who was recognized as the election winner by Venezuela's highest court and electoral authority, is scheduled to be inaugurated for his third term, Reuters reports.

"We had a long, fruitful, and cordial conversation with President Biden and his team," Gonzalez told reporters after the meeting with Biden at the White House.

The Venezuelan government said in a statement that it was "grotesque" for Biden to support a "violent project" to usurp democracy in the country.

The opposition released detailed vote counts that it says show a landslide victory for Gonzalez, and international observers have said the vote was unfair. The government has not released detailed vote counts.

Later in the afternoon, Gonzalez said on social media platform X that he had a long meeting with Mike Waltz, Trump's national security advisor.

"Among the various issues we discussed in detail was the civil protest of Venezuelans on January 9th," Gonzalez added.

"He guaranteed that the United States and the world will be vigilant about what is happening in our country."

Maduro is scheduled to be inaugurated on January 10. His government has repeatedly stated that it will seek the arrest of Gonzalez, who lives in exile in Spain, if the opposition leader enters Venezuela.