Nicolás Maduro was re-elected this Sunday, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE), as president of Venezuela for a third consecutive term. The entity said that the leader of Chavismo obtained around 5.15 million votes (51.2%).
These results, as expected, provoked all kinds of reactions at an international level. Several countries, such as the United States, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Argentina, Spain, Uruguay and the European Union, even questioned the elections.
Former Colombian President Iván Duque was also quick to speak out, saying in a conversation on Monday that Maduro had not won anything, since everyone had realized that he had “stolen the elections” in the neighboring country.
The former president also took advantage of the moment to strongly question President Gustavo Petro for not having come out, until now, to reject the “fraudulent” reelection of the leader of the Venezuelan regime. He also pointed out that the victory of the opposition leader, Edmundo González, should be recognized.
“Colombia, until now, has shown a complicit silence. The national government is at a crossroads, since on the one hand it has an obvious sympathy for Nicolás Maduro. However, he is one of the most staunch defenders of democracy,” initially stated.
He also stated: “The Colombian government must not only reject this theft, but must also publicly acknowledge the resounding victory of Edmundo González. Nicolás Maduro has not won anything, he is stealing the elections. Today it is very difficult to remain silent about this. The government must come out and recognize Edmundo’s victory and reject this theft.”
The former Colombian president was emphatic in pointing out that it would be quite worrying if the head of state of Córdoba recognized the results shown by the CNE. Finally, he stressed that, if this were the case, Petro would be sending a very clear message to the country about what would happen in 2026.
“If Colombia comes out to recognize Nicolás Maduro and the regime, What we have left as a message is what is coming to our country in 2026. We cannot remain calm.”Duque concluded in .
It should be mentioned that the current director of Prosperidad Social, Gustavo Bolívar, explained a few hours ago what President Gustavo Petro’s initial position is regarding the results of the elections in the neighboring country. The official pointed out that one cannot yet speak of electoral fraud.
Finally, the former senator added: “The position has already been issued through the Colombian Foreign Ministry, and that is, in order to ensure transparency, a recount of the votes is guaranteed, which must be done in the presence of international delegates.”
The Foreign Ministry stressed that “the total vote count, its verification and independent auditing” must be known. Colombia shares a long border with Venezuela, and more than 3 million Venezuelans currently live in the coffee-growing nation.
