- Opposition presidential candidate flees Venezuela for asylum in Spain
Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single-party rule.
The surprise departure of the man considered by Venezuela’s opposition and several foreign governments to be the legitimate winner of July’s presidential race was announced late Saturday night by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. She said the government decided to grant González safe passage out of the country, just days after ordering his arrest, to help restore “the country’s political peace and tranquility.”
Neither González nor opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has commented. Spain’s centre-left government said the decision to leave Venezuela was González’s alone and he departed on a plane sent by the country’s air force. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told Spanish national broadcaster RTVE that his government will grant González political asylum as he has requested.
The European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, described it as “a sad day for democracy in Venezuela” and disclosed that the Dutch had been involved in helping González. He added that González “appears to be the winner of the presidential elections” and that the EU will maintain its support of the Venezuelan people “in their democratic aspirations.”
González, a 75-year-old former diplomat, was a last-minute stand-in when Machado was banned from running. His campaign nonetheless rapidly ignited the hopes of millions of Venezuelans desperate for change after a decade-long economic freefall. While President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner of the July vote, most Western governments have yet to recognize his victory and are instead demanding that authorities publish a breakdown of votes.
Exiled opposition politician Franco Casella told RTVE that González would continue to campaign against the regime from abroad in what he called a dual leadership role with Machado, who Casella said remains in hiding in Venezuela.
