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 incumbent President Nicolas Maduro.

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.”

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

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.