Venezuelan Opposition Candidate Flees to Spain Amid Post-Election Turmoil

• Sep 08, 2024

The Venezuelan government has announced that opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has left the country and sought asylum in Spain. This comes after the government-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) declared incumbent President Nicolás Maduro the winner of the July presidential election, a result disputed by the opposition.

According to Venezuela's Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez, Mr. González had "voluntarily" sought refuge at the Spanish embassy in Caracas some days ago and subsequently asked the Spanish government for political asylum. The Venezuelan government has agreed to his safe passage, and he has now departed the country on a Spanish Air Force plane.

The opposition had claimed that they had evidence showing Mr. González had won the election by a comfortable margin, and they had uploaded detailed voting tallies to the internet suggesting he had beaten Mr. Maduro convincingly. However, the government has detained more than 2,400 people since the election, creating what the UN has called "a climate of fear."

Mr. González, a 75-year-old who was not widely known before March this year, had been in hiding since July 30, fearing arrest after statements made by leading government politicians who said he should be "behind bars." The attorney general's office, aligned with the Maduro administration, has accused him of conspiracy and forging documents, among other "serious crimes."

The opposition's original choice for presidential candidate had been the charismatic María Corina Machado, who had won an open primary with 93% of votes. However, when her efforts to overturn a ban that barred her from running for public office were rejected by the government-controlled authorities, the opposition had to find an alternative candidate.

On election night, Mr. González appeared side-by-side with Ms. Machado, disputing the announcement by the CNE that had declared Mr. Maduro the winner with 52% of the votes. The opposition's claim of election irregularities has been echoed by several countries, including the United States, the European Union, and various Latin American nations, which have refused to recognize Mr. Maduro's victory without the release of detailed voting data.

The departure of Mr. González for Spain comes as security forces in Venezuela have surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital, Caracas, where six political opponents of President Maduro are currently sheltering. The Venezuelan government has alleged that terrorist acts are being plotted inside the embassy.

This ongoing political crisis in Venezuela has further deepened the country's instability, with the opposition and the international community challenging the legitimacy of President Maduro's re-election. The asylum granted to Mr. González in Spain is likely to add to the tensions between Venezuela and the international community.