“Israel expresses concern over the political persecution and arbitrary arrests by the regime,” stated Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar.
(Jan. 11, 2025 / JNS) Nicolás Maduro held an “illegitimate presidential inauguration in Venezuela in a desperate attempt to seize power,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Friday, as the Venezuelan leader began his third term amid contested elections.
“The Venezuelan people and world know the truth—Maduro clearly lost the 2024 presidential election and has no right to claim the presidency,” Blinken stated. “The United States rejects the National Electoral Council’s fraudulent announcement that Maduro won the presidential election and does not recognize Nicolás Maduro as the president of Venezuela.”
Instead, according to the U.S. State Department, Edmundo González Urrutia should have been sworn in as the Venezuelan president, “and the democratic transition should begin.”