U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called Venezuela's Edmundo Gonzalez the country's "president-elect" for the first time, signaling that Washington wants to step up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro.

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 the opposition candidate won July’s presidential election.