A surprise departure into exile. Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who claims victory in the July 28 presidential election, left Venezuela on Saturday to join Spain, which granted him asylum. At the same time, the authorities in Caracas issued a safe-conduct pass to the candidate who was running against outgoing President Nicolas Maduro “in the interest of peace” in the country.
“Today, September 7, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia […] left the country. After voluntarily taking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas a few days ago, he has requested political asylum from the Spanish government,” Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on her social networks.
While Nicolas Maduro was re-elected for a third six-year term as Venezuela’s president, the country has since been plunged into a serious political crisis. The opposition denounces fraud in the results and claims that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won 70% of the vote.
Edmundo Gonzalez targeted by an arrest warrant
“I confirm that he left for Spain,” José Vicente Haro, Edmundo Gonzalez’s lawyer, told Agence France-Presse. According to a source close to the opposition, the discreet diplomat left the country with his wife Mercedes. They left on board a Spanish air force plane, and the government of Pedro Sanchez, through its Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, indicated that it was “committed […] Read more
