At a meeting of businessmen, he said that he is the elected president of Venezuela and that his stay in Spain is temporary. He then told journalists that he would return to his country as soon as possible.
After the elections on July 28, the electoral council declared incumbent President Nicolás Maduro the winner. He would have received 52 percent of the votes. The opposition claims that it can demonstrate, based on its own counts, that its candidate González won the elections by a wide margin.
In mid-September, the European Parliament approved by a large majority a declaration recognizing González as the rightful winner of Venezuelan presidential elections.
The United Nations was also critical of the results presented by the Venezuelan electoral council. According to a report published in August by a UN commission that was in Venezuela during the elections, the electoral council in Venezuela did not adhere to the basic principles of transparency and integrity.
González fled to Spain in September after an arrest warrant was issued for him. He was charged, among other things, with conspiracy.
Commenting on the announcement, Jorge Rodríguez, the speaker of the government-controlled parliament, said González is “cowardly and despicable.” “Spain will have to deal with him for the rest of his life.”
