Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez arrived in Madrid yesterday, reported the Spanish agency EFE. The Spanish Air Force plane in which Gonzalez was traveling landed at the Torrejón de Ardos military base. This happened after the government of President Nicolás Maduro ordered his arrest, according to the Financial Times. A former ambassador, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, who agreed to replace illegitimate opposition leader María Corina Machado as presidential candidate, has been the subject of an arrest warrant since September 3 for failing to appear for three summonses for questioning in the prosecutor's office. Earlier yesterday, AFP reported that Venezuelan authorities had granted permission to take safely to Spain the opposition candidate claiming victory in the July 28 presidential election against Nicolas Maduro.
Gonzalez was accompanied by his wife and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs at the Spanish Foreign Ministry, Diego Martínez Belio. The three were welcomed by the Secretary of State for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Spanish Language in the World at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Susana Sumelso.
"From this moment, asylum application procedures will begin, and this will also be to our advantage given Spain's commitment to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelan men and women, especially political leaders", informed the ministry and added that the result of the procedure “will be positive”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Kaspar Veldkamp, told the Congress of Deputies that Edmundo González had been secretly staying in the Dutch embassy in Caracas for more than a month, reported the public broadcaster NOS.
„At his urgent request, the day after the election, I decided to grant Gonzalez hospitality for as long as necessary at the residence of the charge d'affaires of the Netherlands in Caracas,” he said. Earlier this month, Gonzalez said he “wanted to leave and continue his fight from Spain,” Veldkamp added.
Venezuelan Vice President Delsey Rodriguez said late Saturday that Maduro's government had granted Gonzalez a safe exit from the country to help restore “political peace”. In a statement on “Instagram” she stated that Gonzalez was in hiding “voluntarily“ at the Spanish Embassy a few days before his departure.
Gonzalez's departure further isolates Maduro's government, whose victory in the July 28 presidential election was not recognized by most countries in Europe and the Americas, according to the “Financial Times”.
The United States recognized Gonzalez as the winner of the election, and most Latin American and European countries refused to recognize Maduro as the winner and called on the Venezuelan government to publish the lists of voting results, as it has done in previous elections. Maduro's allies - Russia, China, Iran and Cuba - congratulated him on the victory, notes the “Financial Times”.
Venezuela's government has dismissed opposition claims that the vote count was rigged as “fascist“ attempted coup and after the election cracked down on dissent, arresting over 2,000 people, including prominent opposition politicians.
In a further escalation of tensions, the Maduro government this weekend revoked Brazil's mandate to represent Argentina's diplomatic interests in Venezuela. Brazil had offered to protect the Argentine embassy after Caracas cut diplomatic ties with Buenos Aires because Argentina refused to recognize Maduro's election victory.
Six members of the opposition, including close associates of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, took refuge in the Argentine embassy after the election, according to the “Financial Times”.
The Venezuelan government said the decision was made because the embassy was being used to prepare plots to kill Maduro. On Friday evening, the opposition said that Venezuelan security services had surrounded the Argentine embassy and were keeping it under surveillance.
Gonzalez's departure could allow the political crisis in Venezuela to settle, as Maduro now sees himself as the master of the situation.