Havana, Sept. 9, (dpa/GNA) – The Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González, whom the US and many Latin American countries consider the true winner of the July 28 election, arrived in Spain on Sunday, where he is seeking asylum.
González, 75, boarded a Spanish air force plane in the middle of the night after being in hiding for days following a disputed presidential election marred by accusations of widespread voter fraud and repression.
Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said González would “naturally” be granted asylum.
In a major escalation, the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office recently issued an arrest warrant for González on charges including usurpation of office and incitement to sedition.
The most important opposition figure, María Corina Machado, is still in hiding in Venezuela. The 56-year-old was banned from running for office due to alleged irregularities from her time as a member of parliament.
Nicolás Maduro, the disputed winner of the election, said she should be behind bars.
On Sunday, Machado wrote on X that her fellow campaigner’s life had been in danger. González would continue his fight from Spain, she said.
She plans to continue fighting in Venezuela until the end. “Victory is ours,” she posted.
The United States and a score of Latin American countries recognized González as the election’s winner but the incumbent Maduro claimed he had won.
The country’s electoral authority – which is stacked with Maduro loyalists – declared him the winner with 51% of the vote. He has been in power since 2013
The government has not provided any voter tallies to back up 61-year-old Maduro’s win.
Since the vote, the police have cracked down on anti-Maduro demonstrators. The non-governmental rights organization PROVEA said 25 people have lost their lives so far and more than 2,400 people have been detained.
“Sad day for democracy in Venezuela”
The European Union’s top foreign diplomat, Josep Borrell, who is Spanish, said in a statement that it was “sad day for democracy in Venezuela.”
He said González was forced to leave Venezuela “in the face of repression, political persecution and direct threats against his security and freedom.”
Borrell, writing in Spanish, said González stayed at the Dutch embassy until September 5 but applied for asylum in Spain.
Borrell said based on publicly available information, González “won the elections by a large majority.”
In Madrid, González will meet his daughter Carolina, who has lived and worked there for years.
Spain wants to mediate
Spain’s left-wing government, which also doubts Maduro’s victory, will advocate dialogue and negotiations between the government and opposition in Caracas “in order to achieve a peaceful solution for Venezuelans,” said Foreign Minister Albares.
“The government of Spain is committed to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans,” Albares wrote on X.
The opposition says González received 67% of the vote, while Maduro only received 30%.
Protests broke out during the election, which were violently suppressed by the authorities.
The opposition complained of numerous arbitrary arrests.
Venezuela bans Brazil from representing Argentina
Six members of the opposition had already sought refuge in the Argentinian embassy in Caracas in March and are still there.
Following the expulsion of Argentina’s diplomats in the dispute over the election results, Brazil has been administering the embassy of its neighbour since August.
This will no longer be permitted, Venezuela’s government announced on Saturday, saying there were indications that terrorist activities and murder plots against Maduro and Rodríguez had been planned at the embassy.
Its embassy has been surrounded by security forces and secret service agents since Friday, the Argentinian government said.
It had previously asked the prosecuting authority of the International Criminal Court in The Hague to apply for an arrest warrant against Maduro.
GNA