Venezuela’s opposition figure, Urrutia, departs from the country to seek asylum in Spain
Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a presidential candidate from Venezuela's opposition, has sought refuge in Spain after leaving his home country.
The attorney representing Gonzalez Urrutia informed AFP on Saturday that his client, who had been in hiding after challenging President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election on July 28, has now departed for Spain.
“I can confirm that he has departed for Spain,” stated Jose Vicente Haro, who chose not to provide additional remarks following the Venezuelan government’s announcement that it had permitted Gonzalez Urrutia to leave in order to seek asylum.
Spain’s Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Albares, stated on Sunday that Madrid will “obviously” provide political asylum to Gonzalez Urrutia.
“Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez announced on social media that [Gonzalez], who had sought refuge at the Spanish embassy in Caracas a few days earlier, had requested political asylum from the Spanish government. Rodriguez added that Caracas had consented to the former diplomat’s departure from the country.”
Gonzalez Urrutia allegedly departed Venezuela on a Spanish military plane after hiding for several days in the Spanish embassy in Caracas. He sought refuge there following a judicially issued arrest warrant.
Gonzalez Urrutia and his supporters challenged the presidential election outcome, claiming he secured 70 percent of the votes and emerged victorious in the election.
The US-led Western nations support the right-wing opposition group in Venezuela.
Elvis Amoroso, the President of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), declared that Maduro secured 51.2 percent of the votes, earning him a third consecutive six-year term as the country’s leftist leader.
As a result, the attorney general’s office sought and obtained an arrest warrant for Gonzalez, which was subsequently issued by a court in Caracas.
Venezuela’s judicial officials have accused Gonzalez of a range of electoral offenses, including abusing authority, forging documents, inciting civil disobedience, and violating legal statutes.
In his inaugural address following the CNE’s announcement of his victory, President Maduro expressed gratitude to the over 900 election observers who ensured a fair election process. He also criticized those accusing the process of fraud, remarking, “We’ve seen this scenario play out numerous times before.”
