Until now, the US and other countries said Gonzalez had won more votes than incumbent leader Nicolas Maduro in the disputed July vote, but stopped short of recognizing him as “president-elect.”

The U.S. government recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González as the "president-elect" of the South American country on Tuesday, months after President Nicolas Maduro claimed to have won the July contest.

The Biden administration is beginning to refer to Edmundo González Urrutia as Venezuela’s president-elect, a senior administration official said, its strongest acknowledgment yet that that the opposition candidate won July’s presidential election.