The Venezuelan government has confirmed that opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has fled the country, seeking asylum in Spain.
González had been in hiding since late July after disputing the official results of the presidential election, in which the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared President Nicolás Maduro the victor.
Venezuela’s Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez announced on social media that González had “voluntarily” sought refuge at the Spanish embassy in Caracas before officially requesting political asylum from the Spanish government.
Caracas granted González safe passage, allowing him to leave Venezuela, with Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares confirming that González departed the country on a Spanish Air Force plane at his own request.
A lawyer for González confirmed his departure but did not provide further details on his asylum in Spain. The move comes as Venezuela remains in a deepening political crisis, following widespread claims by the opposition that the July 28 election was rigged in favor of Maduro.
The opposition has provided detailed voting data, uploaded online, which it says demonstrates González won by a clear margin.
Several countries, including the United States, the European Union, and multiple Latin American nations, have refused to recognize Maduro as the legitimate winner, citing concerns over the lack of transparency in the electoral process.
Meanwhile, tension in Caracas has escalated, with Venezuelan security forces surrounding the Argentine embassy, where six political opponents of President Maduro are reportedly seeking refuge. The Venezuelan foreign ministry claims these individuals are plotting terrorist activities, though no evidence has been presented.
Since the contested election, the Maduro government has detained more than 2,400 people, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from the international community. The United Nations has expressed concern over what it calls “a climate of fear” created by the wave of arrests and political crackdowns.
González, a relatively unknown figure until this year, became the opposition’s candidate after their original choice, María Corina Machado, was disqualified from running by government-controlled authorities. Machado had won the opposition primary with 93% of the vote but was barred from standing, forcing the opposition to turn to González. Despite being kept in the background for much of the campaign, González emerged on election night alongside Machado to dispute the official result, which awarded Maduro 52% of the vote.
As the political crisis continues, the international community is closely monitoring the situation, with calls for greater transparency in Venezuela’s electoral process growing louder.
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