Can Venezuela's political crisis affect migration and U.S. politics?
Venezuela's election standoff as President Nicolás Maduro insists he won as the U.S. and other countries recognize opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia as the winner can have implications on migration and U.S. politics.
The crisis in Venezuela has resulted in the world’s largest mass migration in recent history: More than 7.7 million people have left the country since 2014, according to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees.
The current protests and tensions following Sunday’s election and the impasse over who was legitimately elected raise questions about whether more Venezuelans will be leaving the country.
The U.S. has recognized opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia as the president-elect, based on evidence the opposition released this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday night.
Opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado talk to the media following the presidential election results in Caracas on Monday. Federico Parra / AFP - Getty ImagesBut Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government insists he won though it hasn’t released all the voting machine tallies to prove this — something the U.S. and other countries are urging the government to do.
The U.S. State Department, through a spokesperson, Vedant Patel, said this week that “the international community, including the United States, is running out of patience waiting for Venezuelan electoral authorities to be honest and publish complete and detailed data on the elections so that “everyone can see the results."
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