The Venezuelan administration has announced that opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has left the country to seek asylum in Spain.
Mr. González has gone into hiding, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest after the opposition challenged the July presidential election result, which was announced by the government-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) as Nicolás Maduro’s victory.
In a social media post, Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy RodrÃguez stated that after “voluntarily” seeking sanctuary at the Spanish embassy in Caracas, Mr. Gonzalez requested political asylum from the Spanish government.
She also stated that Caracas had granted his safe passage and that he had fled.
According to Spain’s Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, Mr. González left the country at his own request and on a Spanish Air Force plane.
He also stated that Spain’s administration was dedicated to the political rights of all Venezuelans.
A lawyer for Mr. González acknowledged to the AFP news agency that he had left the nation for Spain but provided no other information.
While he was gone, security personnel in Venezuela encircled the Argentine embassy in the capital, Caracas.
Six political opponents of President Maduro are hiding there. The country’s foreign ministry claimed that terrorist attacks were being planned within.
Venezuela has been in a political crisis since officials declared President Maduro the winner of the July 28 election.
The opposition claimed it had evidence Mr. González had won by a comfortable margin, and precise voting tallies were published to the internet, indicating Mr. González had defeated Mr. Maduro comfortably.
A number of countries, notably the United States, the European Union, and other Latin American countries, have refused to declare President Maduro the winner until Caracas releases comprehensive voting results.
Since the election, President Maduro’s regime has jailed over 2,400 people, generating what the UN refers to as “a climate of fear.”.
Mr. González has been hiding since July 30th, fearing arrest after statements made by top government politicians claiming he should be “behind bars.”
The attorney general’s office, which is strongly associated with the Maduro administration, has accused Mr. González of conspiracy, forgery, and other “serious crimes.”.
The 75-year-old was relatively unknown until March of this year, when the main opposition alliance named him as its candidate.
MarÃa Corina Machado, the opposition’s original presidential candidate, received 93% of the vote in an open primary.
However, when her attempts to overcome a prohibition that banned her from standing for public office were rejected by government-controlled agencies, the opposition was forced to select another candidate.
After another opposition candidate was disallowed, the opposition nominated Mr González.
Fearing that he, too, would be prevented from running, the opposition kept Mr. González in the background while Ms. Machado crisscrossed the country, urging people to vote for him.
On election night, Mr. González and MarÃa Corina Machado disputed the CNE’s announcement that Mr. Maduro won with 52% of the votes.
