President Biden is expected to meet with the Venezuelan opposition leader on Monday Edmundo Gonzalez at the White House ahead of Venezuela's inauguration Friday President Nicolás Maduro for the third term after them a highly contested electionn, a White House spokesman told CBS News.
The United States and many European countries rejected Maduro's election victory claim, which was upheld by Venezuela's Supreme Court in August. In November, the US government recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmund Gonzalez as the president-elect.
González's visit to the White House is the first stop on an international tour to defy Venezuela's inauguration and rally international support. He lives in exile in Spain after a Venezuelan judge issued an arrest warrant following the July presidential election.
Venezuela's National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner of the election just hours after the polls closed. Unlike previous presidential elections, electoral authorities did not provide detailed vote counts.
Ahead of the election, the United States struck a deal with Maduro's government in which the U.S. would temporarily lift some sanctions on Venezuelan oil and gas in exchange for a commitment to free and fair elections.
The Maduro regime did not uphold its end of the deal and sanctions were reinstated. In September, the US imposed sanctions on 180 Venezuelan officials for not accepting the election results and committing human rights violations, including killings, repression and mass detentions of protesters.