Venezuela's opposition candidate asks Maduro to 'step aside'

Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who has claimed he defeated Nicolas Maduro in last month's election, said Monday he was ready to negotiate a transition -- and asked the incumbent to "step aside."

"Mr. Nicolas Maduro, respect what all Venezuelans have decided... You and your government should step aside... I am ready for dialogue," Gonzalez Urrutia, a retired diplomat, said in a video message posted on social media.

"Every day that you hinder the democratic transition, Venezuelans suffer from a country in crisis and without freedom. Clinging to power only makes the suffering of our people worse. Our time has come."

AFP