Former Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia has headed to Madrid, Spain, after having requested political asylum at the embassy of that country. He had previously received “the appropriate safe-conduct passes” from the government of Nicolás Maduro, according to the official statement released on social media.
The Spanish Air Force plane left Maiquetía, Venezuela, late on Saturday night. The aircraft made two technical stops, one in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and another at the Lajes International Air Base, in Portugal.
The plane carrying González is expected to arrive in the Spanish capital early in the afternoon (local time).
Persecuted after the presidential elections
The National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the July 28 elections for a third term, amid allegations of fraud by the opposition.
The former candidate was wanted by the authorities after the Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant against him, after he failed to appear at three summons to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for publishing electoral data on a website that the authorities consider a “usurpation of functions.”
“Edmundo González, at his own request, is flying to Spain on a Spanish Air Force plane,” Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on his social media accounts on Saturday.
Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was the first to publish a message on her Instagram account, which the Public Prosecutor’s Office later replicated on its social networks.
More than a month after the election, the electoral authority has not released the detailed results, which has been questioned by dozens of countries that have not recognized Maduro’s victory.
González Urrutia had denounced the lack of guarantees by the Judiciary, considered an arm of the Executive Branch. He had last participated in a public event on July 30, two days after the elections, and since then he has limited his appearances to videos on social media.
His lawyer reported this week, citing relatives, that González Urrutia had not requested political asylum at any embassy accredited in the country, following the arrest warrant issued against him.
“Asylum has not been requested, nor has a request been made to be a guest in an embassy. This is an issue that has not been raised by the family or by Mr. Edmundo González Urrutia, as reported by the family members who are my channels of communication,” said his lawyer José Vicente Haro last Tuesday.
María Corina Machado, the winner of the opposition presidential primary but disqualified from holding public office, has not yet commented on González Urrutia’s decision to seek asylum in Spain.
Machado, a 56-year-old former parliamentarian and engineer, traveled the country campaigning for González Urrutia, after several attempts to register candidates, after she was prevented from registering as a candidate.
Saturday of diplomatic tensions
González Urrutia’s unexpected departure from Venezuela occurred on the same day that diplomatic tensions between Venezuela and Brazil intensified, after Venezuelan authorities announced the revocation of Brazil’s right to represent Argentine interests in the country, including the administration of the embassy and the diplomatic residence where six opposition figures are taking refuge.
According to Maduro’s government, the six asylum seekers are planning terrorist activities, including an alleged plot to assassinate the president and vice president.
The revocation comes after Venezuela broke relations with Argentina after questioning the results of the July 28 presidential election. Brazil, like Colombia and Mexico, has asked the Venezuelan government to publish the full results of the vote.
Brazil’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it was “surprised” by Venezuela’s decision and added that it would continue to represent Argentine interests until Argentina designates another country to do so with Venezuela’s approval.
“In this context, the Brazilian government stresses the inviolability of the Argentine diplomatic mission’s facilities, in accordance with the Vienna Conventions,” he added.
The Argentine government strongly criticized the measure, which it described as “unilateral” by Maduro’s government.
“Any attempt to interfere or kidnap asylum seekers staying at our official residence will be harshly condemned by the international community,” the ministry said in a statement.
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