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Cuban President Raul Castro praised Monday Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for calling for calm and accepting the results of Sunday’s election as he offered words of consolation.
"I'm sure new victories for the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution will come under your leadership," President Raul Castro wrote to Maduro, referring to Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar, as well as his late friend President Hugo Chavez.
Meanwhile, the United States Secretary of State John Kerry “congratulated” the people of Venezuela following Sunday’s elections in which the right-wing pro-Western opposition secured a majority in the National Assembly, ending 17 years of socialist rule.
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“The United States congratulates the people of Venezuela for making their voices heard in a peaceful and democratic way on election day,” Kerry said in a statement posted by the U.S. State of Department. “We urge Venezuelan electoral authorities to continue to tabulate and publish voting results in a timely and transparent fashion.”
The top U.S. diplomat further said that his country supported “dialogue among all parties in Venezuela to address the social and economic challenges facing the country.”
His comments came after the opposition won 99 of a total of 167 seats, while President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist PSUV party won 46 seats. The remaining 22 seats, including three Indigenous representatives, are yet to be announced.
Bolivian President Evo Morales called for a “deep reflection” on how “to defend democratic revolution” in light of the the resurgence of conservatives in Venezuela after more than 16 years of left-wing rule.
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Meanwhile, the right-wing government of Argentine President-elect Mauricio Macri, who was elected last month, also offered congratulations to Venezuelans.
"We must congratulate the Venezuelan people and recognize that the government has made a clear sign of recognition of the results of the elections," Argentina's foreign minister-designate, Susana Malcorra, told local radio on Monday.
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He added that Macri’s upcoming government will not seek to suspend Venezuela from South America's Mercosur trade bloc, backtracking from earlier comments after Venezuela's ruling socialists took a beating in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
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