CARACAS, Venezuela — Former Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo González fled into exile in Spain on Sunday after being granted asylum there, delivering a serious blow to thousands and thousands who positioned their hopes in his opposition marketing campaign to finish 20 years of single-party rule.
The shock departure of the person thought-about by Venezuela’s opposition and several other international governments to be the reliable winner of July’s presidential race was introduced late Saturday by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.
She stated the federal government determined to grant González protected passage overseas, simply days after ordering his arrest, to assist restore “the nation’s political peace and tranquility.”
González arrived Sunday at a army airport close to Madrid, accompanied by his spouse and Spanish officers, Spain’s international ministry stated.
Opposition chief Maria Corina Machado stated González feared for his life if he stayed in Venezuela.
“His life was in peril, and the rising threats, authorized citations, arrest orders, and even blackmail makes an attempt that he was subjected to reveal that the regime has no scruples or limits in its obsession to silence him and attempt to break him,” Machado wrote on X.
Spain’s center-left authorities stated the choice to depart Venezuela was González’s alone, and he departed on a aircraft despatched by the nation’s air drive. González stayed on the Spanish embassy in Caracas earlier than leaving.
Spanish Overseas Minister José Manuel Albares advised Spanish nationwide broadcaster RTVE that his authorities will grant González political asylum as he requested. Albares spoke from Oman whereas en path to China with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on a state go to.
“I’ve been in a position to communicate to (González), and as soon as he was aboard the airplane, he expressed his gratitude towards the Spanish authorities and Spain,” Albares stated. “In fact, I advised him we had been happy that he’s properly and on his approach to Spain, and I reiterated the dedication of our authorities to the political rights of all Venezuelans.”
In a speech earlier than González’s departure was introduced, Sánchez stated the opposition chief was “a hero whom Spain is just not going to desert.”
The European Union’s international affairs chief, Josep Borrell, in an announcement Sunday described it as “a tragic day for democracy in Venezuela.”
Borrell added that González “seems to be the winner of the presidential elections” and that the EU will keep its help of the Venezuelan individuals “of their democratic aspirations.”
In a letter despatched Sunday to lawmakers, Dutch Overseas Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp stated that the Netherlands had given González refuge shortly after the election at its embassy. He added that González stated in the beginning of September that he wished to depart the nation “and proceed his struggle from Spain.”
González, a 75-year-old former diplomat, was a last-minute stand-in when Machado was banned from operating. Beforehand unknown to most Venezuelans, he nonetheless quickly ignited the hopes of thousands and thousands of Venezuelans determined for change after a decade-long financial free fall.
Whereas President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner of the July vote, most Western governments, together with Spain, have but to acknowledge his victory and are as a substitute demanding that authorities publish a breakdown of votes. In the meantime, tally sheets collected by opposition volunteers from over two-thirds of the digital voting machines point out that González gained by a greater than 2-to-1 margin.
The tally sheets have lengthy been thought-about the final word proof of election ends in Venezuela. In earlier presidential elections, the Nationwide Electoral Council revealed on-line the outcomes of every of the greater than 30,000 voting machines however the Maduro-controlled panel didn’t launch any information this time, blaming an alleged cyberattack mounted by its opponents from North Macedonia.
Lawyer Common Tarek William Saab, a staunch Maduro ally, sought González’s arrest after he failed to seem 3 times in reference to a prison investigation into what it considers an act of electoral sabotage.
Saab advised reporters that the voting information the opposition shared on-line had been cast and an try to undermine the Nationwide Electoral Council.
Specialists from the United Nations and the Carter Heart, which on the invitation of Maduro’s authorities noticed the election, decided the outcomes introduced by electoral authorities lacked credibility. In an announcement vital of the election, the U.N. consultants stopped wanting validating the opposition’s declare to victory, however they stated the voting information it revealed on-line seem to exhibit the entire authentic security measures.
Exiled opposition politician Franco Casella advised RTVE that González would proceed to marketing campaign towards the regime from overseas in what he known as a twin management function with Machado, who Casella stated stays in hiding in Venezuela.
He stated he understood that some individuals who opposed Maduro may really feel “orphaned” by González’s departure. However, he added, “that is going to be capitalized positively …. and my message is that this isn’t the time for tears, it’s time for us to stay united towards the dictatorship.”
Spain has been a serious level of exodus for Venezuelans, notably these main opposition to Maduro’s regime. They embody Leopoldo López, who fled to Spain to reunite along with his household in 2020, and Antonio Ledezma, who left in 2017.
Some 44,000 Venezuelans immigrated to Spain within the first six months of this yr. The final authorities statistics from 2022 stated that some 212,000 Venezuelans had been then residing in Spain.
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Goodman reported from Miami and Wilson from Barcelona, Spain. Mike Corder contributed from The Hague.
