Panama seeks Latin American summit to support democracy in Venezuela

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said on Tuesday he wants to host a summit of 17 Latin American presidents to discuss the political situation in Venezuela and support democracy in the country following its contested election late last month.

Mulino made the announcement in a post on X, instructing his foreign minister to organize invitations for the summit.

Mulino asked for the United States' support for the summit in a meeting on Tuesday with U.S. Southern Command General Laura Richardson and U.S. Ambassador to Panama Mari Carmen Aponte, his office said in a later statement.

The summit's goal is to publish a joint declaration regarding the South American nation's political situation and to "seek a peaceful solution for the conflict," Mulino's office added.

Both current Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez have claimed victory in the July 28 election.

The electoral authority, which the opposition claims is loyal to Maduro, declared Maduro the winner with around 51% of the vote.

However, the opposition maintain Gonzalez garnered more than 6 million votes, compared to 2.7 million for Maduro, and have published a copy of ballots from 30,000 voting machines online.

The government says it also has copies of the ballots but has not yet published them, nor has the electoral authority.

Last week, the Organization of American States met to issue a declaration calling for the publication of detailed election results and the safety of people seeking asylum in diplomatic facilities, but with many countries abstaining or absent from the vote, the resolution did not pass.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Kylie Madry; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Sarah Morland)