Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who claimed victory in last year’s presidential election against current President Nicolás Maduro, met with President Biden on Monday in search of support in removing the incumbent from office.

Biden and González Urrutia met at the White House, where the latter, who represented Venezuela’s main opposition coalition in the country’s presidential election in July, tried to rally support for his effort to remove Maduro from office by Friday, when the South American country’s next presidential term starts.

“We had a long, fruitful and cordial conversation with President Biden and his team,” González Urrutia told reporters. “We, of course, thanked the United States government for the support it has given us in this fight for democratic recovery in Venezuela. That is a commitment that we take with us and that we will continue to follow until the last day of the president’s government.”

White House officials said in a statement that the two leaders met to discuss shared efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello (Federico Parra/AFP/File)

“Coward,” Cabello said of the retired diplomat, who he accused, without offering any proof, of being a CIA agent. “He has neither courage nor disposition. … Mr. González Urrutia knows that as soon as he steps in Venezuela he will be arrested.”

González Urrutia fled Venezuela for Spain in September after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with an investigation into the publishing of the election’s tally sheets.

The Venezuelan government also announced a $100,000 reward for information on his whereabouts last week.

On Monday, González Urrutia told reporters his campaign has been in contact with President-elect Trump’s team.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.