Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez arrived in Spain on Sunday, Spanish officials said, where he is due to seek asylum after fleeing his home country.
The United States and many Latin American countries consider 75-year-old Gonzalez the true winner of Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election, which incumbent Nicolas Maduro was declared by electoral officials and the supreme court to have won.
A worsening political crisis forced Gonzalez into hiding for the past month and an arrest warrant was issued this week for the politician on charges including attempted seizure of office and incitement to sedition.
What do we know about Gonzalez’ arrival in Spain?
Gonzalez arrived at the Torrejon de Ardoz military base, near Madrid, with his wife on Sunday, Spain’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Instagram that authorities had given Gonzalez safe passage to Spain in a bid to restore “political peace.”
He left Venezuela after “voluntarily seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago,” she wrote.
Madrid said there had been no talks between the Spanish and the Venezuelan governments on Gonzalez’s exit.
Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Gonzalez would “naturally” be granted asylum.
Hours after his arrival, Gonzalez sent a short voice message to supporters.
“My departure from Caracas was surrounded by acts of pressure, coercion and threats,” he said.
“I trust that we will continue our fight to achieve our freedom and the restoration of Venezuela’s democracy.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Gonzalez had fled to protect his “freedom, his integrity and his life”.
“The increasing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even the attempts at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected show that the regime has no scruples or limits in its obsession to silence him and try to break him,” she wrote.
Gonzalez would continue to fight for the opposition from Spain, Machado added.
How did the EU, US react?
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Gonzalez’ departure was “a sad day for democracy in Venezuela.”
“In a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country,” he said in a statement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred to Gonzalez as the “best hope” for Venezuela’s democracy.
“Venezuelans voted for change. Maduro’s post-election repression has killed or jailed thousands, and winning candidate @EdmundoGU remains the best hope for democracy,” he said.
“We must not let Maduro and his representatives cling to power by force. The will of the people must be respected.”
What was the outcome of Venezuela’s presidential election?
Venezuela’s CNE electoral authority, which is filled with loyalists to the president, declared 61-year-old Maduro the winner of the election.
The CNE said Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, won 51% of the vote.
But the opposition said Gonzalez had won a resounding victory, receiving 67% of the vote, versus 30% for Maduro.
Maduro’s opponents published vote tallies online that they say show Gonzalez won and have denounced what they said was widespread voter fraud.
Much of the international community has also refused to accept the result without seeing a detailed vote breakdown from election authorities, which has not been forthcoming.
Since the election, the police have cracked down on anti-Maduro demonstrators.
The non-governmental rights organisation PROVEA said 25 people have died and more than 2,400 people have been arrested.
This report first appeared on DW.
