Gideon Sa'ar sides with Venezuelan opposition against Nicolas Maduro
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar spoke today with the opposition presidential candidate and Venezuela's opposition leader, recognizing them as the country's legitimate leadership.
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Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar spoke today (Thursday) with Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate, Edmundo González, whom many outside observers believe won the election and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, wishing for their rightful return to power.
In his official X statement, translated from Spanish, he said that:
"This evening, I spoke with the elected President of Venezuela, Edmundo González, and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. I congratulated the President on his impressive electoral victory and expressed my hope that the legitimate and just struggle for freedom and democracy by the citizens of Venezuela will soon come to an end, and González will return to his country as President.
"I added that I join the call of many around the world for the current ruler, Maduro—an ally of the murderous Ayatollah regime in Iran, to respect the will of the people as reflected in the election results.
"I invited the elected President to visit Israel and emphasized Israel's hope that, with the return of democracy to Venezuela, full diplomatic relations between the two countries will be restored.
"Long live free Venezuela!"
Sa'ar thus joins with many leaders around the world, who believe the presidential election in Venezuela was manipulated to give Maduro the win, with opposition leader González the actual winner and legitimate President.
Among these leaders is one of Israel's closest friends in Latin America, Argentinian President Javier Milei. Milei publicly called the official elections results a "fraud" and said that "we do not recognize fraud, we call on the international community to unite to restore the rule of law in Venezuela, and we remind the Venezuelan people that the doors of our country are open to every man who chooses to live in freedom."
Opposition leader González said that he had decisive proof of his victory shortly after the election ended, but Maduro has refused to change his position or step down from power.