Venezuela opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia flees to Spain

Venezuela’s opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia left the country on Saturday after seeking asylum in Spain. 

Nicolás Maduro’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez shared an Instagram post which informed that González left the country after “voluntarily” seeking political asylum at the Spanish Embassy. 

González was granted safe passage by the Maduro regime for “the sake of the tranquility and political peace of the country”, the statement added.

Earlier this week, the Maduro-allied Public Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant for González, the 75-year-old retired diplomat who ran against Maduro and has disputed the authoritarian leader’s re-election. 

González is widely believed to have won the July 28 election as the opposition coalition published over 80% of precinct-level voting tabulations indicating he won a majority, while the Maduro regime has yet to publish any proof.  

Since the election, the country has been plunged into political turmoil and González Urrutia has been in hiding. 

Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that “González, at his own request, flies to Spain on a Spanish Air Force plane,” via X.  

He added that “the Government of Spain is committed to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans.”

On Friday, Spanish President Pedro Sánchez called González a “hero” and vowed that “Spain would not abandon him.” 

González’s attorney, José Vicente Haro, confirmed to AFP that the opposition leader had left for Spain but did not give any further details. Sources close to the opposition indicated that he left with his wife Mercedes. 

Before González departed the country, security forces in Caracas surrounded the Argentine Embassy, which has sheltered six opposition campaign officials since late March. The power supply to the Embassy has also been cut, according to reports. 

The Embassy has been represented by a delegation from Brazil since diplomatic relations broke down between Argentina and Venezuela after the contested election. 

On Saturday, the Maduro government revoked Brazil’s custody over the Argentine Embassy due to allegations of “planning of terrorist activities and assassination attempts” against President Maduro and Vice-President Rodríguez in the Embassy, a Foreign Ministry statement said.