The U.S. government recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González as the "president-elect ... but had fallen short of acknowledging him as president-elect. Venezuela's National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists ...

US recognizes Venezuela's opposition candidate Edmundo González as 'president-elect' months after Maduro claims victory

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.”