Maduro rival seeks Biden talks before Venezuela's inauguration

Bloomberg News on Jan 4, 2025

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Venezuela’s opposition leader plans to meet Washington lawmakers and speak with President Joe Biden next week ahead of his promised return to the oil-rich South American nation after an election the U.S. says was stolen from him.

Edmundo González, who the Biden administration considers the rightful winner of Venezuela’s July vote, said Saturday from Argentina that his agenda in the U.S. capital is still being finalized. The former diplomat is seeking to build support for his claim to power before President Nicolás Maduro begins a third term on Jan. 10, after the socialist leader declared himself the winner without presenting evidence.

“We are planning a conversation with President Biden and we are waiting clarity regarding the new authorities,” González told reporters in Buenos Aires after meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei.

Voting records released by the opposition show González defeated Maduro by a wide margin, but he was forced to flee to Spain in September amid a wave of repression. Earlier this week, the regime offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to González’s capture, publishing his photo on wanted posters it distributed on social media and across the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

While González said he plans to speak with Biden, an in-person meeting may be complicated. Biden is entering his final week in office and is set to visit New Orleans on Monday in the wake of a New Year’s Eve attack that killed more than a dozen people in the city. The Venezuelan opposition leader said he would depart for the U.S. late Saturday after a stop in Uruguay.

The White House National Security Council didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on a possible meeting or call with Biden.

González, who also plans to visit Panama and the Dominican Republic as part of his tour, reiterated his intention to take office in Venezuela. “By whatever means necessary, I’m going to be there,” he said.

The Biden administration’s decision in November to label González as Venezuela’s president-elect represents an early test for Donald Trump, who will return to the White House later in January.

The Republican’s hawkish Cabinet choices suggest he could take as hard a line as he did against Maduro during his first term. But Trump may also be tempted to cut a deal with the socialist strongman in exchange for accepting planes full of Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S.