MADRID/CARACAS: Venezuelan Opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez flew into Spain on September 8 to seek asylum, hours after quitting his country amid a political and diplomatic crisis over July’s disputed election.
Poll result challenged
Gonzalez – who has challenged President Nicolas Maduro’s declaration of victory – arrived at the Torrejon de Ardoz military base with his wife, Spain’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The exit of the 75-year-old – seen by the U.S., the EU and other powers in the region as the winner of the disputed vote – came a week after Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes.
“Today is a sad day for democracy in Venezuela,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement. “In a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country.”
Gonzalez “remains the best hope for democracy,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a post on messaging platform X. “We must not let Maduro and his representatives cling to power by force,” he said.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Instagram authorities had given Gonzalez safe passage in a bid to restore “political peace”. Venezuela’s Opposition says the July 28 election resulted in a resounding victory for Gonzalez, and published vote tallies online that they say show he won.
Maduro has dismissed all such assertions and says there was a rightwing plot to sabotage his government. Gonzalez’s move to Spain marked another shift in the fortunes of the former diplomat who came out of retirement and took over the candidacy in March.
