Caracas:

Venezuela’s former presidential opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has left for Spain in the wake of the South American country’s contested election, Venezuelan and Spanish officials said on Saturday night after a day of rising diplomatic tensions.

Gonzalez, 75, who ran against President Nicolas Maduro in July, left after “voluntarily seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago,” Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez posted on Instagram.

“Edmundo Gonzalez has taken off from Caracas heading to Spain on a Spanish Air Force plane,” Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares posted on X, saying Madrid was responding to a request from Gonzalez.

Gonzalez’s exit from Venezuela is the latest political development since the country’s election on July 28. Democracies around the world have criticized the Venezuelan government’s handling of the vote, which election officials and its top court say was won by Maduro.

Venezuela’s opposition say the election resulted in a resounding victory for Gonzalez, and published vote tallies online that they say show he won.

This week prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez in connection to the online publication of the tallies, accusing him of usurping functions, falsifying public documents and conspiracy, among other charges.

Earlier on Saturday, Venezuela’s government revoked Brazil’s authorization to represent Argentine interests in the country, including administering the embassy where six opposition figures are sheltering.

Venezuela broke relations with Argentina after the presidential election. Brazil, like Colombia and Mexico, has asked the Venezuelan government to publish the full results of the vote.

The government has not done so and the country’s electoral authority said Maduro won re-election for a third term.

In a statement, Venezuela said the decision, effective immediately, was due to proof that the embassy was being used to plan assassination attempts against Maduro and Rodriguez.

Brazil said it had received the communication that its authorization had been revoked “with surprise.” Argentina said it rejected the “unilateral” decision. Both countries urged Maduro to respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

“Any attempt to invade or kidnap asylum seekers who remain in our official residence will be harshly condemned by the international community,” Argentina said in a statement. “Actions like these reinforce the conviction that in Maduro’s Venezuela, fundamental human rights are not respected.”

A Brazilian diplomatic source said on Saturday afternoon that Venezuela had assured Brazil it would not invade the embassy.

In its statement, Brazil insisted it would remain in custody and defense of Argentine interests until Argentina indicated another state acceptable to Venezuela to do so.

“The Brazilian government highlights in this context, under the terms of the Vienna Conventions, the inviolability of the facilities of the Argentine diplomatic mission,” it said, adding that it housed six Venezuelan asylum seekers, assets and archives.

The escalation in the spat between the South American countries was first reported by Reuters.

In March, six people sought asylum in the Argentine embassy in Caracas after a prosecutor ordered their arrest on charges including conspiracy. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has denied the allegations against her collaborators.

On Friday night, some opposition members in the Argentine residence reported on their X accounts that the building was under surveillance and had no electricity. They posted videos showing men dressed in black and patrols from the government intelligence agency, SEBIN.

Argentina’s Foreign Ministry asked the International Criminal Court on Friday to issue an arrest warrant against Maduro and other senior government officials for events that occurred after the elections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

One of Venezuela’s newest news anchors sits on a stool, dressed in a flannel shirt and chinos as he delivers the day’s headlines.

He goes by “El Pana,” Venezuelan slang for “friend.”

Only, he’s not real.

El Pana, and his colleague “La Chama,” or “The Girl,” are generated using artificial intelligence, though they look, sound and move realistically.

They were created as part of an initiative dubbed “Operation Retweet” by Colombia-based organization Connectas, led by director Carlos Huertas, to publish news from a dozen independent media outlets in Venezuela and in the process protect reporters as the government has launched a crackdown on journalists and protesters.

“We decided to use artificial intelligence to be the ‘face’ of the information we’re publishing,” Huertas said in an interview, “because our colleagues who are still out doing their jobs are facing much more risk.”

At least 10 journalists have been arrested since mid-June and eight remain imprisoned on charges including terrorism, according to Reporters Without Borders.

“Here, using artificial intelligence is… almost like a mix between technology and journalism,” Huertas said, explaining the project looked to “circumvent the persecution and increasing repression” from the government as there would be no one who could face arrest.

The country’s opposition and human rights groups have said recent arrests of protesters, opposition figures and journalists are part of a government crackdown meant to quiet a sometimes violent, month-long election dispute.

Venezuela’s communications ministry did not respond to a request for comment about the AI journalism initiative. No official has responded to repeated requests for comment by Reuters about the arrests of journalists in recent weeks.

Both the opposition and President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in the July 28 election.

Maduro, in power since 2013, is backed by the Supreme Court and the electoral authority, which has not published full vote tallies because of what it says was a cyber-attack.

The opposition has shared what it says are more than 80% of vote tallies, showing a resounding win for its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. Some international observers and many Western countries have said election conditions were unfair and demanded full tallies.

Protests since the vote have led to at least 27 deaths and 2,400 arrests, and detentions of opposition figures and protesters have continued as part of the government’s “Operation Knock Knock.”

Maduro and his administration have called protesters fascists and said they are inciting hate at the behest of countries like the United States, which Washington denies.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Venezuela’s flag flutters over the Federal Legislative Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela on August 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Venezuela’s CNE electoral council, under fire after declaring a widely rejected election victory for President Nicolas Maduro, on Wednesday (August 14, 2024) described a U.N. report disputing the outcome as “rife with lies.”

The CNE proclaimed Mr. Maduro the winner with 52% of votes cast in a July 28 poll, without providing a detailed breakdown.

Mr. Maduro’s victory has been rejected by the opposition, the United States, European Union and several Latin American countries.

Anti-Maduro protests in Venezuela have claimed 25 lives so far, with dozens injured and more than 2,400 arrested.

A preliminary report published Tuesday by a panel of U.N. elections experts found the CNE “fell short of the basic transparency and integrity measures.”

The CNE hit back Wednesday, saying the U.N. report was “rife with lies and contradictions” and insisting a “cyber-terrorist attack” has prevented it from disclosing a full breakdown of polling-station-level results after what it termed an “impeccable and transparent electoral process.”

The CNE website has been down since election day.

Venezuela’s foreign ministry has also rejected the U.N. report.

Former opposition leader Enrique Marquez, who also once ran against Mr. Maduro and himself served on the CNE, said Wednesday he would request the prosecutor’s office to launch a criminal investigation into his former colleagues on the electoral council.

Mexico insisted the solution to Venezuela’s post-election crisis could be resolved by it alone.

“This is a matter that belongs to Venezuelans, and what we want is for there to be a peaceful solution to disputes, which has always been our foreign policy,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters.

He said he had no immediate plans for renewed contact with his fellow leftist leaders in Brazil and Colombia to discuss the crisis, saying he would await a ruling by Venezuela’s Supreme Justice Tribunal, which Mr. Maduro had asked to certify the election outcome.

‘Coup d’etat’

The opposition says its own tally of polling-station-level results showed Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a 74-year-old retired diplomat, had won by a wide margin.

Gonzalez Urrutia and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running by Mr. Maduro-friendly state institutions, are in hiding after the president accused them of seeking to foment a “coup d’etat” and incite “civil war.”

On Wednesday, Gonzalez Urrutia said the report from the UN panel and an earlier one from the U.S.-based Carter Center “confirm the lack of transparency in the announced results and confirm the veracity of” the opposition’s published ballots, “which demonstrate our indisputable victory.”

A day earlier, the South American country’s national assembly started considering a package of laws to tighten regulations on non-governmental organizations — described by the regime as a “facade for the financing of terrorist actions.”

Other measures seek to increase government oversight over social media, accused of promoting “hate,” and to punish “fascism” — a term often used by Mr. Maduro in relation to the opposition and other detractors.

Debate in the single-chamber assembly is due to resume Thursday.

Since coming to power in 2013, Mr. Maduro has overseen an economic collapse that has seen more than seven million Venezuelans flee the country, as GDP plunged 80% in a decade.

Mr. Maduro’s last election in 2018 was also rejected as a sham by dozens of countries.

Caracas:

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose claim to victory at the polls has been widely contested, is no friend of billionaire Elon Musk, and the feeling is clearly mutual, with their war of words escalating amid the political crisis in Caracas.

Musk — who leads SpaceX and Tesla, and owns the social network X — is an ultra-capitalist who backs Donald Trump, meaning he is everything that the socialist Maduro despises.

But in recent days, the bus driver-turned-leader of oil-rich, cash-poor Venezuela has Musk — who he calls his “arch-enemy” — in his sights.

Maduro has accused Musk of being behind “attacks against Venezuela” and possibly the mastermind of an alleged “computer hacking” at the National Electoral Council (CNE), which declared Maduro the winner of Sunday’s vote without providing detailed data.

On Tuesday, following a meeting of Maduro’s top political and military advisors, he announced the creation of a special committee, aided by Russian and Chinese experts, to evaluate the nation’s biosecurity and an attack on the CNE’s communications systems.

“The attacks, I am sure, were directed by the power of Elon Musk,” he said.

Opposition figures and observers do not believe there was actually a hack, but that authorities self-sabotaged the system so they would not have to provide the real election results.

Before voters cast their ballots, the 61-year-old Maduro was running well behind opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in independent opinion polls.

Late Tuesday, Maduro addressed hundreds of supporters from his balcony — and once again attacked the 53-year-old Musk.

“Venezuela, as I said yesterday and today, is facing domestic and international aggression from world powers, and now it is evident that Elon Musk is obsessed with the idea of taking over Venezuela and ruling it from abroad,” Maduro said.

“He is largely responsible for these attacks and acts of aggression,” he added, suggesting the existence of a “global alliance of the far right, the fascist far right, drug traffickers, Elon Musk and the imperialist US government.”

“All those who come after Venezuela, we will eliminate them.”

– ‘Shame on Dictator Maduro’ –
Musk has regularly slammed Maduro’s policies on X. 

When asked about the criticisms, a senior Venezuelan foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity: “We know who Musk is. He’s on the far right and supports (Argentine President Javier) Milei… So we take all these remarks as compliments.”

Before Sunday’s election, Musk posted: “It is time for the people of Venezuela to have the chance for a better future. Support Maria Corina!”

He was referring to the wildly popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running against Maduro.

After the vote, and the announcement of the results, Musk said Sunday: “Shame on Dictator Maduro” and “What a travesty.”

He also posted a 2020 announcement from the US Drug Enforcement Administration of criminal charges against Maduro for drug trafficking and a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

The posts sparked outrage from Maduro.

“He wants to come here with his guns and an army to invade Venezuela. Elon Musk, good thing you showed your face because we knew you were behind it all! With your money and your satellites,” Maduro said.

“He wants to control the world, he already controls Argentina… You want to fight? Elon Musk, I am ready. I am the son of Bolivar and Chavez, I’m not afraid of you, Elon Musk… The people defeated Elon Musk’s bots, we defeated Elon Musk’s bots!”

Musk’s retort came in Spanish: “An ass knows more than Maduro.”

Later on, the billionaire added: “Sorry to have compared the poor ass to Maduro. That was an insult to the animal kingdom.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Venezuelans voted on July 28 between continuity in President Nicolas Maduro or change in rival Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia amid high tension following the incumbent’s threat of a “bloodbath” if he loses.

Polls suggest the vote poses the biggest threat yet to 25 years of “Chavismo,” the populist movement founded by Mr. Maduro’s predecessor and mentor, Hugo Chavez.

But analysts say Mr. Maduro is unlikely to concede defeat, especially in the absence of immunity guarantees, with his government under investigation for human rights abuses by the International Criminal Court.

Long queues of voters formed at several ballot stations hours before polls opened at 6:00 a.m. (1530 IST) on July 28. Polls close at 6:00 p.m.

“I have been here since 4:30 in the morning, and I hope it will be a successful day,” lawyer Griselda Barroso, 54, told AFP in Caracas.

“I hope there is democracy.”

Mr. Maduro, 61, is seeking a third six-year term at the helm of the once wealthy petro-state that saw GDP drop 80% in a decade, pushing more than seven million of its 30 million citizens to emigrate.

He is accused of locking up critics and harassing the opposition in a climate of rising authoritarianism.

In a message published on social media overnight, Mr. Maduro urged Venezuelans to “Vote, vote, vote, and peace will triumph.”

After casting his vote in the capital on July 28, he vowed to “make sure” the results were respected.

His contender, Gonzalez Urrutia, a 74-year-old former diplomat, called on his compatriots to turn out in large numbers “to transform your future” in what “will undoubtedly be the most important democratic expression of the people in recent years.”

“We hope and wish that everything will transpire in peace,” he said in a video posted on social media.

Mr. Maduro lags far behind Gonzalez Urrutia in voter intention, according to independent polls, but counts on a loyal electoral machinery, military leadership and state institutions in a system of well-established political patronage.

Relying on its own figures, the government is also said to be certain of victory.

With several international election observers blocked from entering the South American country at the last minute, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for all parties to “respect the democratic process.”

“The Venezuelan people deserve an election that genuinely reflects their will, free from any manipulation. The international community is going to be watching this very closely,” Mr. Blinken told reporters in Japan.

‘Peace or war’

Days before the vote, Mr. Maduro said the outcome would decide whether Venezuela enters a period of “peace or war.”

“If they do not want Venezuela to become a bloodbath, a fratricidal civil war produced by the fascists, let us guarantee the greatest success, the greatest electoral victory of our people,” he said at a rally.

The comments drew condemnation from leaders including Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who said: “Maduro has to learn: if you win, you stay. If you lose, you go.”

Concerns were further stoked when Caracas blocked the international observers, including four ex-Presidents who had their plane held up in Panama on July 26.

‘World is watching’

Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, spoke to Machado on July 27, writing on X afterward: “We are on the side of democracy. The world is watching these elections.”

On July 26, a Venezuelan NGO said the government was holding 305 “political prisoners” and had arrested 135 people with links to the opposition campaign since January.

Caracas accuses the opposition of conspiring against Mr. Maduro, whose 2018 reelection was rejected as illegitimate by most Western and Latin American countries.

Years of tough U.S. sanctions failed to dislodge the President, who enjoys support from Cuba, Russia and China.

Venezuelans are clamouring for change.

Most live on just a few dollars a month, with the health care and education systems in disrepair and biting shortages of electricity and fuel.

The government blames sanctions, but observers point the finger at corruption and mismanagement.

About 21 million Venezuelans are registered to vote.

The government has deployed tens of thousands of security forces and enforced ramped-up border control and a prohibition on public gatherings and protests.

“While the election in Venezuela will hardly be free or fair, Venezuelans have their best chance in over a decade to elect their government,” Human Rights Watch Americas director Juanita Goebertus said this week, urging the international community to “have their (voters’) back.”

Canada reached the semi-finals of the Copa America on Friday after beating Venezuela 4-3 on penalties after the 90-minute game finished 1-1. Jacob Shaffelburg fired Canada into the lead in the 13th minute but Salomon Rondon equalised in the 64th, before Canada triumphed in the shoot-out to set up a last-four meeting with world champions Argentina. The Canadians, under American coach Jesse Marsch, who only took over the team in mid-May, are playing in the Copa America for the first time and produced a relentless display of pressing in what was a frantic game.

Both teams failed to score from the spot twice in the shoot-out, leaving it at 3-3 after five penalties each and sending the contest into sudden death.

Canada keeper Max Crepeau, who had made a major error for Venezuela’s equaliser, made amends as he saved Wilker Angel’s kick.

That left Ismael Kone with the chance to win the game. He converted with an ice-cool penalty to set off the celebrations in front of a crowd of 51,080 mostly Venezuela supporting fans.

Canada played Argentina in the opening game of the group stage, losing 2-0 to the defending champions and will start as huge underdogs again in the semi-final.

But after a performance of remarkable energy and determination against a Venezuela team that won all three of their group stage games, Marsch will believe his team could pull off another upset and reach the final in Miami on July 14.

Canada roared out of the blocks, giving Venezuela no time on the ball and getting forward in numbers in the early stages.

“Vinotinto” keeper Rafael Romo had to race out of his area to stop Cyle Larin as he raced on to a ball over the top, but there was nothing he could do minutes later when the Canadians took the lead.

Jonathan David bustled in from the right and winger Shaffelburg arrived right on time to slot the ball into the bottom corner.

Shaffelburg, a speedy left-winger who plays in Major League Soccer for Nashville, then forced Romo into a diving save and then delivered a low cross which David was unable to finish.

Canada were going for the jugular and Richie Laryea zipped a ball across the face of the box but the stretching David was unable to reach it.

Larin wasted a big chance just after the interval when he found the ball in space in the box but leaned back and fired his shot well over the bar.

Marsch’s high-energy tactics were starting to take a toll on his players and as they tired Venezuela grew into the game.

Jose Martinez should have done better when a poor clearance landed at his feet in the box but he stabbed his shot wide.

But then a long ball forward was won by Rondon, who spotted Crepeau far off his line and from 35-yards out the veteran striker produced a perfect lob to beat the stranded keeper and make it 1-1.

There were late chances for Canada to win the game in regulation time, but neither Liam Millar nor Tani Oluwaseyi, both on as substitutes could provide a composed finish.

With no extra-time in Copa America, it was straight to penalties and after Rondon and David both converted, Yangel Herrera hit the post for Venezuela.

Millar then put his effort over the bar and after Tomas Rincon scored for Venezuela, Moise Bombito levelled for Canada.

But Jefferson Savarino hit the post and Canada’s Stephen Eustaquio saw his soft effort saved by Romo before both teams scored to make it 3-3.

Then in sudden death, Crepeau dived to deny Angel leaving Kone with the pressure shot to win which he handled with aplomb.

“Everybody needs to realize the respect this country deserves and these footballers deserve,” Crepeau told Fox Sports.

“Everybody says ‘these Canadians’, well these Canadians are in the semi-finals of Copa America”.

A Colombian journalist was shot dead in a coca-growing area near the border with Venezuela, an NGO tracking such crimes reported on Friday.

The reporter, Jorge Mendez, was attacked “by armed men in the town of Tibu in the Norte de Santander department, said the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz) in a statement.

Mendez “was a recognized social leader, reporter and community journalist,” said the NGO.

He was killed in a region where leftist guerrillas and far-right paramilitaries are known to operate.

Tibu is the town with the world’s biggest expansion of drug crops, where more than 22,000 hectares (54,000 acres) of coca, the base component of cocaine, are grown, according to the UN.

The former mayor of Tibu, Nelson Leal, governed for months from a distance due to threats, while the town’s prosecutor was murdered in 2021.

The Inter-American Press Association condemned Mendez’s murder and called for “a timely and exhaustive investigation,” in comments on X.

Venezuela booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Copa America on Wednesday with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Mexico that ensured Jamaica’s elimination from the tournament. Mexico-based veteran striker Salomon Rondon stroked in the only goal from the penalty spot to seal all three points for Venezuela, who are top of Group B with six points from two games. Mexico, meanwhile, can still qualify for the knockout rounds with a victory over Ecuador in their final group game on Sunday.

But the Mexicans will be left kicking themselves at their failure to take at least a point from Wednesday’s clash with Venezuela at a packed SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Mexico’s Orbelin Pineda missed an 87th-minute spot kick that would have made it 1-1, his effort parried away by Venezuela goalkeeper Rafael Romo.

Earlier, Rondon had fired Venezuela into the lead in the 57th minute from the penalty spot after Mexico’s Julian Quinones brought down Venezuela’s Jon Aramburu with a clumsy challenge in the area.

Venezuela’s win confirmed Jamaica’s exit from the tournament following their 3-1 loss to Ecuador in Las Vegas earlier on Wednesday.

Ecuador, beaten by Venezuela in their opening match on Saturday, held off a spirited second-half rally by the Reggae Boyz to claim a vital three points at the Allegiant Stadium.

The South Americans looked to be cruising to victory after taking a 2-0 lead following a Kasey Palmer own goal and a penalty from Chelsea-bound teenager Kendry Paez.

However, Jamaica pulled a goal back from veteran striker Michail Antonio early in the second half, and then had strong claims for a penalty rejected 15 minutes before full-time.

Ecuador, however, made the game safe in stoppage time with a breakaway goal from Alan Minda as Jamaica pressed forward for an equaliser. 

Ecuador opened the scoring with a freakish own goal in the 13th minute, Pierre Hincapie’s cross from the left taking a wicked deflection off Palmer and looping into the Jamaica net.

Ecuador doubled their lead from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time.

Defender Greg Leigh instinctively blocked a header with his upper arm and after a lengthy VAR review, Chilean referee Cristian Garay pointed to the spot.

The 17-year-old Paez — who will join Premier League giants Chelsea in July 2025 when he turns 18 — stepped up to calmly stroke the spot-kick into the bottom corner.

A rejuvenated Jamaica pulled one back early in the second half with Antonio jabbing home a low shot on 54 minutes after Ecuador failed to clear a corner.

Jamaica thought they had been thrown a lifeline with 15 minutes to go after a VAR penalty check triggered when Ecuador’s Alan Franco appeared to handle inside the area.

But despite being called to the monitor to take a look at the incident, referee Garay decided there had been no handball and waved play on, before Minda’s late goal sealed Ecuador’s win.

The United States will ease some oil and gas sanctions against Venezuela after the South American country’s government and opposition agreed to hold elections next year.

In response to those “democratic developments,” the U.S. Treasury Department “has issued General Licenses authorizing transactions involving Venezuela’s oil and gas sector and gold sector,” and is “removing the ban on secondary trading” in debt securities, a statement from undersecretary for terrorism Brian Nelson said Wednesday.

But it also said that those authorizations could be amended or revoked at any time if the electoral deal falls through.

“Let’s turn the page, let’s rebuild a relationship of respect, of cooperation… this is my message to those in power, and to the government of the United States,” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said, while also calling for a definitive end to the sanctions.

To uphold the agreement, the United States warned Venezuela that it must “define a specific timeline and process for the expedited reinstatement of all candidates” by the end of November, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

“All who want to run for president should be allowed the opportunity,” he said in a statement.

The agreement between Washington and Caracas comes just a day after the Venezuelan government and opposition reached a deal in Barbados — mediated by Norway — to hold elections in late 2024.

But that accord allows for the exclusion of certain candidates under Venezuelan law, which would include opposition frontrunner Maria Corina Machado.

U.S. officials speaking on the condition of anonymity on Wednesday evening, however, said they believed Caracas was planning to eventually allow such candidates to participate.

Blinken said “failure to abide by the terms of this arrangement will lead the United States to reverse steps we have taken.”

Later in the day, five jailed opposition figures were released, according to a social media post by Gerardo Blyde, who represents the opposition in talks with the government.

Among them were journalist Roland Carreno and former lawmaker Juan Requesens, imprisoned in 2018 after an attack on Maduro.

Also on Wednesday, a charter flight from Texas arrived at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas carrying about 130 Venezuelan migrants, the first such deportation flight following an agreement earlier this month between the two countries.

The deal provides for the “orderly, safe and legal repatriation” of undocumented Venezuelan migrants, who until now had been deported in small numbers on commercial flights, mixed in with regular passengers.

In concrete terms, the sanctions easing means the U.S. government is re-authorizing the purchase of Venezuelan oil and gas for a period of six months, which may be renewed “only if Venezuela meets its commitments under the electoral roadmap as well as other commitments with respect to those who are wrongfully detained.”

Regarding the gold sector, no time limit has been specified, with the Treasury Department stating it seeks to reduce black market trading.

Washington is also allowing renewed trading in Venezuelan debt securities on the secondary market, although the ban on the primary market — meaning debt securities newly issued by the Venezuelan government — remains in force.

The easing of sanctions on Venezuelan oil had been eagerly awaited by the markets, leading to a fall in the price per barrel despite the war between Israel and Hamas and the risk of escalation in the Middle East.

An exact election date will be defined by the country’s National Electoral Council, according to the text of the deal.

The two sides had resumed talks seeking to end the country’s political and economic crisis, after a nearly yearlong suspension.

The opposition, backed by several countries including the United States, did not recognize Maduro’s 2018 re-election in a vote widely dismissed as fraudulent.

The following year, Washington ramped up sanctions against Caracas first imposed in 2015 over the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

But the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s war on Ukraine saw renewed global efforts to solve the crisis in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves.

Last year, U.S. delegates went to Caracas to meet Maduro, even though Washington does not recognize him as a legitimate leader.

After initial talks between the government and the opposition, Washington granted a six-month license to U.S. energy giant Chevron.