Venezuelan opposition unanimously chooses Edmundo González to oust Maduro in upcoming election

The Democratic Unitary Platform unanimously designated Venezuelan diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia as its candidate for the July 28 presidential elections.

The announcement came after on Friday a meeting between representatives of 10 parties that make up the opposition bloc, which also included the movement's leader, María Corina Machado, and the governor of the state of Zulia, Manuel Rosales, who declined calls for his nomination in favor of González.

“The democratic unity of Venezuela is prepared in every way to produce political change through electoral means and from now on all of us who want change in the country must unite around this candidacy,” said Omar Barboza, executive secretary of the Unitary Platform.

Barboza assured that the parties that supported Rosales are going to join the candidacy of González, whose candidacy was admitted last month by the National Electoral Council (CNE) and that there were no objections.

“We don't have to do anything, he is registered and admitted, he was not challenged. What is missing is that the parties that were supporting Manuel Rosales, including Un Nuevo Tiempo, have to adhere to the Democratic Unity Table card so that all the votes obtained by those cards are added to the unitary candidate," he added.

This Saturday the deadline established by the CNE to replace and modify candidacies with effect on the electoral ballot expired.

González Urrutia is a Venezuelan politician, diplomat, ambassador and writer. He was Venezuela's ambassador to Argentina and Algeria. In addition, he is part of the Editorial Group of the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional.

The United States announced this Wednesday that it is partially reversing the relief of sanctions on Venezuelan oil and gas, accusing dictator Nicolás Maduro of failing to fulfill his electoral commitments with the disqualification of María Corina Machado.

The Treasury Department set a May 31 deadline for foreign companies to halt all oil and gas production and export operations they have had over the past six months.

The United States lifted sanctions on Venezuela last year after the Barbados agreements, aiming to give the Maduro regime incentives to hold free elections this year.