Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who has the voting rolls that prove he won the July 2024 presidential election in Venezuela, has included a stop in the Dominican Republic on his Americas tour. The tour began with consecutive stopovers in Buenos Aires, Argentina for a meeting with President Javier Millei and in Montevideo, Uruguay for a meeting with President Luis Lacalle Pou, both on Saturday, 4 January 2025.
On Sunday, 5 January, he arrived to the United States and met with US President Joe Biden on 6 January.
He is expected to fly to Panama on Wednesday, 8 January for a meeting with President Jose Raul Mulino. Mulino has offered asylum to President Nicolas Maduro who the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela has confirmed will be sworn in on 10 January for a third consecutive term.
Next, the Dominican Republic was added to Gonzalez Urrutia’s agenda. He is expected on Thursday, 9 January for a meeting with President Luis Abinader before continuing on to Venezuela for the presidential swearing-in ceremony on 10 January. Diario Libre reports that the Gonzalez will be received as a distinguished visitor, not as the President-elect of Venezuela. The Dominican Republic has not recognized the win of Nicolas Maduro and Venezuela ordered Dominican diplomats to leave Caracas and closed the Dominican embassy in Santo Domingo. Venezuelan affairs are handled by the Embassy of Spain.
Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia is recognized by many nations as the legitimate president-elect of Venezuela. He competed in the July 2024 election for the Venezuelan Democratic Movement (MDV). As reported when he visits, he will be accompanied by several former presidents of Latin American countries.
As reported, Gonzalez has the support of eight former presidents who range from Dominican former President Hipolito Mejia to Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon of Mexico and Andres Pastrana from Colombia. Also present will be former presidents of Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Paraguay. These men form part of a group known as IDEA. IDEA is the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas, and it is an NGO that is made up of 37 former presidents and chiefs of government who work to encourage alternance in government elections through the democratic process.
The media has reported that Gonzlez Urrutia will be received by President Abinader at the Presidential Palace. He will also have a private meeting with Abinader, followed by a luncheon in the Green Room of the Presidential Palace where most of the President’s cabinet will be on hand.
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7 January 2025