{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2024/08/02/press-releases-id-0b2f0f5b-bda7-4290-a812-178911362113/", "Bennet, Colleagues Introduce Resolution Recognizing Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia as Venezuela\u2019s President-Elect", "2024-08-02", "2024", "2024-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "CO", "Michael F. Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", "bennet", "https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/", "scraper", "Denver \u2014 Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to introduce a resolution recognizing Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia as the President-elect of Venezuela. Yesterday, after the Senators introduced their resolution, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also recognized Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia as the winner of Venezuela\u2019s election and called for negotiations to ensure a peaceful transfer of power.\n\n\u201cEdmundo Gonz\u00e1lez is the duly-democratically elected president of Venezuela. The Venezuelan people have long sought to restore the rule of law and democracy in their country, and the United States of America stands with them,\u201d said Bennet.\n\n\u201cThe Venezuelan people\u2019s desire for freedom and democracy is admirable. The recent electoral process, which narco-dictator Maduro fraudulently claims he won, has been a testament to the tenacity of the Venezuelan spirit. The United States, along with democracies worldwide, can\u2019t legitimize Maduro nor be complicit by remaining on the sidelines with an illegitimate narco-regime. The time has come for us to recognize the duly-democratically elected president of Venezuela, Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia,\u201d said Rubio.\n\n\u201cThis resolution demonstrates across the political spectrum in the U.S. Senate what we and most of the democratic world recognize as obvious\u2014that Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez won Sunday\u2019s election by a fair and commanding margin. The meticulously compiled and transparent release of more than 80 percent of all Venezuelan election results by credible election monitors confirms this as well. The Venezuelan people have suffered greatly in recent years and voted accordingly for change. I urge respect for the Venezuelan voters\u2019 choice and ensuring peaceful democratic transfer of power,\u201d said Durbin.\n\n\u201cEvil dictator, Nicolas Maduro, emboldened by the appeasement of the Biden-Harris administration, is attempting to steal yet another election from the people of Venezuela, meeting their calls for freedom with oppression and violence. Democracy in Venezuela is at stake and the security of our hemisphere is in danger. The United States cannot be silent or complicit in Maduro\u2019s tyranny. The Venezuelan people have made their voices heard when they chose Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez as their rightful leader and now the United States, and every freedom-loving nation, must stand with them,\u201d said Scott.\n\n\u201cElections matter, and the will of the Venezuelan people must be respected. The results of the election are clear \u2013 Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia has won a resounding victory and is the legitimate president-elect of Venezuela. The opposition\u2019s efforts, led by Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, were instrumental in ensuring that we understand how the election unfolded. The democracies of the world are rallying in support of the Venezuelan people and in condemnation of what is a brazen and fraudulent attempt by the Maduro regime to steal the outcome. The only acceptable outcome is a peaceful transition of power to the new, duly elected presidential administration,\u201d said Kaine.\n\n\u201cThis is a critical moment for our hemisphere. Do we have another 25 years of tyranny and repression just three hours from America? Do we allow the Russians, Chinese Communist Party, and drug cartels to use Venezuela as ground zero planning harm to the U.S. and allies in the hemisphere? We need to change course. It starts by recognizing President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez. Hasta el final!\u201d said Cassidy.\n\nThe Venezuelan people saw this election as an opportunity to peacefully exercise their sacred right to vote and demand a return to democracy. Despite the Maduro regime\u2019s continued attempt to maintain its illegitimate grip on power through coercion and violence, the Venezuelan people voted, in a landslide, for Gonz\u00e1lez Urrutia. Earlier this week, Bennet joined 15 members of Congress \u2013 including Rubio, Cassidy, and Scott \u2013 in denouncing the deeply flawed election results announced by Maduro-controlled election authorities.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:41:32Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2024/08/02/press-releases-id-0b2f0f5b-bda7-4290-a812-178911362113/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8242959156632423, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}