Exiled Venezuelan opponent Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, in Madrid, Spain, September 28, 2024.
AFP
Exiled Venezuelan opponent Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who claims victory in the July 28 election against President Nicolas Maduro, is on his way to Argentina, as Venezuelan authorities offer a $100,000 reward (91 246 Swiss francs) for any information enabling it to be captured.
Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, exiled in Spain since September and who promised to return to his country to “take office” on January 10 in place of Nicolas Maduro, must arrive in a few hours in Buenos Aires, told AFP on Thursday a source within the Argentine presidency, without providing further details.
Shortly before, Caracas announced offering a reward of $100,000 for any information leading to the capture of the Venezuelan opponent.
The re-election of Nicolas Maduro hotly contested
“Research. Capture order. Reward: $100,000,” we can read on a poster published on social networks by the Venezuelan police, with a photo of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
The poster will be put up in airports and police checkpoints across the country, judicial sources told AFP.
The proclamation of the re-election of Nicolas Maduro for a third six-year term was strongly contested by the opposition, which considers that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia is the winner, with more than 67% of the votes.
“My mandate will begin in 2025”
The former diplomat and leader of the Venezuelan opposition, Maria Corina Machado, who lives in hiding, called on her fellow citizens to demonstrate on Tuesday, while President Nicolas Maduro is due to be sworn in on January 10 for a third term.
“Let us make the commitment together that my mandate will begin in 2025,” said Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who was living in Spain following an arrest warrant issued against him.
The United States, the European Union and many Latin American countries do not recognize the re-election of Nicolas Maduro, elected since 2013 after contested elections.
“The people’s house will never fall”
Nicolas Maduro, who believes that accusations of electoral fraud are part of a plan to carry out a “coup d’état” in the country, is preparing to take the oath of office on January 10, supported by the army.
“On January 10, 2025, we will take to the streets by the millions to take an oath for Venezuela,” we can hear in a video that the president published Thursday on Instagram, resuming images of a speech given in December at the gates of the presidential palace in Caracas.
“The people’s house will never fall into the hands of a puppet,” also indicates a message that accompanies the publication, in reference to Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
More than 2,400 people arrested after the election
The proclamation of Nicolas Maduro’s victory led to protests and clashes with the police, leaving 28 dead and nearly 200 injured.
More than 2,400 people were arrested during the unrest following the election, accused in particular of terrorism and incitement to hatred. Nearly 1,400 of them were released on parole, according to the authorities.
The expected arrival of the Venezuelan opponent should further strain relations at their lowest point between Caracas and Buenos Aires.
“Arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance”
On Thursday, Argentina announced that it had filed a complaint against Venezuela before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the “arbitrary detention and forced disappearance” of an Argentine gendarme, Nahuel Gallo, held by Caracas which accuses him of “ terrorism”.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed by Venezuela after Argentine President Javier Milei questioned the re-election of Nicolas Maduro.
Security at the Argentine embassy in Caracas has since been provided by Brazil. In March, six collaborators of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, accused of “terrorism,” took refuge in the diplomatic representation. Five of them are still there.
(afp)
