Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said President Nicolás Maduro had been ousted after refusing a negotiated exit and called for opposition-backed candidate Edmundo González to take the presidency.
In a statement released Saturday on X, Machado said Maduro had rejected efforts to negotiate a transition that would have led to his impeachment.
“Maduro was removed from power after he refused a negotiated exit,” Machado said, without giving further details of the process that led to his removal.
Call Edmund González to take over
Machado said Edmundo González, who the opposition, the United States and international observers say has won Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, should take office immediately.
She reaffirmed the opposition’s position that the election result is legitimate and must be respected.
A promise to restore order and free the prisoners
Machado said the opposition would move quickly to stabilize the country if González takes power.
She promised that the new government would restore order after years of political and economic turmoil, free political prisoners and begin rebuilding democratic institutions.
