White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday that the Biden administration is urging Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to recognize that his opponent, Edmundo González, won the majority of the vote tallies in the nation’s July 28 election—and to engage in dialogue with his opponent to “restore democratic norms.”
This comes after a U.N. report on Tuesday determined the South American nation’s elections lacked basic transparency.
While Jean-Pierre said at the press briefing that the situation in Venezuela is a “critical moment for democracy,” she stopped short of calling González the “President-elect.”