MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei welcomes González Urrutia at Casa Rosada

After meeting with Milei, González Urrutia is due in Montevideo later Saturday for an encounter with President Luis Lacalle Pou

Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, whom many regard as the truthful winner of the July 28 elections in his country, was welcomed Saturday by Argentine President Javier Milei at the Casa Rosada. He made Buenos Aires the first stop of his tour ahead of what he has announced will be his inauguration on Jan. 10 in Caracas despite Nicolás Maduro's regime planning otherwise and offering a US$100,000 reward for his head.

Hundreds of Venezuelans turned out at the historic Plaza de Mayo to show their support for the retired diplomat who picked the baton from disenfranchised leader María Corina Machado, who was banned from running for office. The crowds chanted “President, President”, “Freedom,” and “Thank you, Milei” as the two leaders showed up on the balcony.

“Plaza de Mayo”:
Por la movilización ante el encuentro de Edmundo González Urrutia con Javier Milei pic.twitter.com/1pNQ2aw1Wf

— ¿Por qué es tendencia? (@porquetendencia) January 4, 2025

González Urrutia, who served as Venezuelan Ambassador to Buenos Aires in the early 2000s, arrived in the Argentine capital amid great secrecy from Madrid, where he has been in exile since September. He plans to further visit Uruguay, Panama, and the Dominican Republic before being sworn in on Friday to replace Maduro: “22 years later, I return as the elected president of my country,” González Urrutia wrote on X.

Before meeting with Milei, Gonzalez Urrutia sent a special message to the political prisoners in Venezuela as well as those of Machado's Vente Venezuela party housed at what used to be the Argentine Embassy in Caracas. They are “and will be our concern in all the meetings we will hold,” González Urrutia insisted.

Argentina, the United States, the European Union, and several Latin American countries do not recognize the election results announced by Maduro's controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) resulting in numerous protests nationwide, leading to 28 deaths and 200 people wounded. Of the 2,400 people arrested by the Chavista regime, three have died in prison and a handful were sent free in the recent few days.

While Maduro prepares to be sworn in, tension between Caracas and Buenos Aires mounted after the arrest of Border Guard (Gendarmería Nacional) First Corporal Nahuel Gallo, who tried to visit his romantic partner and their common child in Venezuela. He has been charged with espionage.

Milei and González Urrutia held a private meeting lasting about half an hour to discuss bilateral issues. Joining them outside the presidential office were Mrs Mercedes González Urrutia (née López), Argentina's Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein, and Presidential Secretary and sister Karina Milei.

President Milei was one of the first to recognize González Urrutia as the winner of the July 28 elections while denouncing a “massive fraud,” after which the staff at the Argentine Embassy in Caracas was expelled from the country, leaving the premises under Brazilian guardianship.