Opposition to Venezuela Presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Officials said on Sunday that he had left for Spain overnight, seeking asylum, amid a growing political and diplomatic crisis over disputed July election results.
The plane carrying Gonzalez – who has challenged PResident Nicolás Maduro’s declaration of victory – had stopped in Portugal’s Azores islands and was expected in Spain in the coming hours, Spanish media reported.
The 75-year-old’s dramatic exit – seen as the winner of the vote by the US, the European Union and other powers in the region – came in a week. After the Venezuelan authorities An arrest warrant was issued against him Conspiracy and other offences.
“Today is a sad day for democracy in Venezuela,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement. “In a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek refuge in another country.”
Venezuelan Vice President Delsey Rodriguez said Instagram authorities had given Gonzalez safe passage to restore “political peace”.
He “left Venezuela after voluntarily seeking asylum Spanish Embassy in Caracas Several days ago,” she wrote on Instagram.
Gonzalez flew from Caracas on a Spanish Air Force plane, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez Posted on X, said Madrid are responding to Gonzalez’s request.
The move marked another shock change in fortunes for Gonzalez, a former diplomat who came out of retirement to run in March, initially as a placeholder after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and then unable to stand for another seat.
Venezuela’s opposition says Gonzalez won a landslide victory in the July 28 election, publishing online the number of votes they say he won.
Maduro has dismissed all such accusations as a right-wing plot to topple his government.
There was no immediate comment from the opposition coalition he represented on his departure or his movements since the arrest warrant was issued.
He took refuge in the Dutch and then the Spanish embassies in Venezuela, according to Dutch and Venezuelan officials.
Dutch Foreign Minister Kasper Veldkamp said Sunday that Gonzalez had urgently requested asylum at the Dutch embassy the day after the election.
“At the beginning of September, Edmundo González indicated that he wanted to leave the residence and the country … He indicated that he still wanted to leave and continue his fight from Spain”, Veldkamp added.
Spanish officials, including former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, held a week of talks with Venezuelan authorities, a source with knowledge of the talks told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Venezuelan security forces this weekend surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital Caracas, where six Venezuelan political opposition figures were also staying in opposition to President Nicolás Maduro.
Members of the Venezuelan opposition posted pictures and videos of security vehicles surrounding the embassy complex.
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