Venezuela: opposition candidate takes refuge in Spain where he will be granted political asylum, 'his life was in danger'

Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition presidential candidate in Venezuela beaten, amid allegations of fraud and fraud, by Nicolas Maduro, has left the country for Spain. Gonzalez, against whom the Venezuelan regime had issued an arrest warrant in recent days, landed at the Torrejon de Ardoz military base in Madrid aboard the Spanish Air Force plane. This was reported by the Efe agency. The military flight that left Caracas had made stopovers in the Dominican Republic and the Azores. The Spanish government has provided the necessary diplomatic and material means for his transfer, which was carried out at his request,' reads a note from the Spanish Foreign Ministry, in which it reiterates the Madrid government's commitment 'to the political rights and physical integrity of all' Venezuelan citizens, with particular attention to political leaders.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado said that Venezuela's former presidential candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, had to flee Caracas for Spain because 'his life was in danger'. "The increasing threats, summonses, arrest warrants and even attempts at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected show that the regime has no scruples or limits in its obsession with silencing him and trying to subdue him," the former deputy wrote on X. 'Edmundo will fight from outside alongside our diaspora and I will continue to do so here, alongside you,' Machado said. He added that Gonzalez will take office as 'president-elect' on the date stipulated in the Constitution, 10 January next year.

'On 10 January 2025, President-elect Edmundo González Urrutía will be sworn in as constitutional president of Venezuela and commander-in-chief of the national armed forces,' Machado wrote on social media. The former deputy thus reiterated the thesis of the opposition and some international observers, according to which the former ambassador won more than 60 per cent of the vote, beating outgoing president Maduro, who was declared the winner without evidence and despite allegations of fraud.

The diplomatic operation that resulted in Gonzalez's departure from Venezuela was initiated a fortnight ago, according to Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Alberes, in a statement to reporters during a stopover on Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's official trip to China.
According to other sources privy to the talks, quoted by the Iberian media, including El Pais and El Mundo, a key role was played by former president José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who had attended the presidential elections in Venezuela on 28 July as an observer, but not acting on behalf of the government.
Yesterday Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had called Gonzalez 'a hero', assuring that Spain would not abandon him. Madrid insists that asylum in Spain was requested by Gonzalez himself and denies negotiations with Maduro's government.

The plane from Caracas landed today, Sunday 8 September, at 4pm in Madrid. Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who travelled together with his wife and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. for Global Affairs, Diego Martinez Belìo, was received at the military airport of Torrejon de Ardoz (Madrid) by the Secretary of State for Iberoamerica, Susana Sumelzo, the Foreign Ministry informed in a note.