Venezuela’s Opposition Leader Leaves Country For Spain
The Venezuelan government has said opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has left the country, seeking asylum in Spain.
Mr González has been in hiding, and a warrant issued for his arrest after the opposition disputed July’s presidential election result – in which the government-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Nicolás Maduro the winner.
Venezuela’s Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez said in a post on social media that after “voluntarily” seeking refuge at the Spanish embassy in Caracas some days ago, Mr Gonzalez asked the Spanish government for political asylum.
She added that Caracas had agreed to his safe passage and that he had left.
Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares said “Mr González had departed the country at his own request and on a Spanish Air Force plane.”
He added that Spain’s government was committed to the political rights of all Venezuelans.
A lawyer for Mr González confirmed to AFP news agency he had left the country for Spain but did not give any further detail.
While he has departed, security forces in Venezuela have surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital, Caracas.
Six political opponents of President Maduro are sheltering there. The country’s foreign ministry alleged that terrorist acts were being plotted inside.
Venezuela has been in a political crisis since authorities declared President Maduro the victor of the 28 July election.
The opposition claimed it had evidence Mr González had won by a comfortable margin and uploaded detailed voting tallies to the internet, which suggests Mr González beat Mr Maduro convincingly.
A number of countries, including the United States, the European Union, and several Latin American countries, have refused to recognize President Maduro as the winner without Caracas releasing detailed voting data.
The government of President Maduro has detained more than 2,400 people since the election, creating what the UN has called “a climate of fear.”
BBC/Shakirat Sadiq
