U.S. condemns 'unjustified arrest warrant' issued for Venezuela's Edmundo González Urrutia

The State Department is condemning an arrest warrant issued for Edmundo González Urrutia, who challenged Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in the July 28 presidential election and is widely believed to have won.

"The United States joins a broad range of international partners in strongly condemning the unjustified arrest warrant," the department said Tuesday.

The release calls the warrant an "arbitrary and politically motivated action" motivated by "Maduro's ruthless pursuit of his political opponents following his attempts to steal the July 28 presidential election."

"Maduro and his representatives cannot indefinitely suppress the legitimate aspirations of the Venezuelan people and maintain power by force," the department also said in the statement. "The will of the people and their rights must be respected."