U.S. condemns Venezuela opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia arrest warrant

Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department Tuesday condemned the arrest warrant issued for Venezuelan political opposition leader and apparent presidential election winner Edmundo González Urrutia.

He is the presidential candidate who ran against Nicolas Maduro in the July election and, by most all objective accounts, won the election with an overwhelming majority of votes.

"González Urrutia won the most votes i n Venezuela's July 28 presidential election, and this arbitrary and politically motivated action is a low point in Nicolás Maduro's ruthless pursuit of his political opponents following his attempts to steal the July 28 presidential election," the State Department said in a statement.

The statement added that Maduro and his representatives "cannot indefinitely suppress the legitimate aspirations of the Venezuelan people and maintain power by force."

Venezuela's Public Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant for González Urrutia on charges of "usurpation of functions, forgery of public documents, instigation to disobey laws, conspiracy, and "sabotage to damage systems."

The U.S. maintains that no evidence has been produced showing Maduro won legitimately, noting that the original tally sheets from the election have not been released as they were in the 2013 and 2018 elections.

The State Department said despite repeated calls for the tally sheets from within Venezuela and internationally, "the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) has failed to substantiate its announced results by producing original tally sheets."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an Aug. 7 statement, "Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela's July 28 presidential election.

Blinken called for peaceful restoration of democratic norms after mass protests in Venezuela over the election results.

The State Department Tuesday statement said, "The will of the people and their rights must be respected. We reiterate our call for the immediate and unconditional release of those who have been unjustly detained. The path forward should be a peaceful, transparent, and inclusive democratic transition process that puts the well-being of Venezuelans at its center."

The democratic opposition alleges that Venezuela's judiciary lacks independence.