Brazil Opposition leader leaves Venezuela - asylum in Spain

Around six weeks after the presidential election in Venezuela, which was overshadowed by allegations of fraud, opposition leader Edmundo González has left the country. According to the Foreign Ministry in Madrid, he left for Spain on a Spanish air force plane at his own request. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that González had submitted an application for asylum, "which the Spanish government will of course process and grant".

He had spoken to the Venezuelan, Albares was quoted as saying by Spanish state TV station RTVE. From the plane, he expressed his gratitude to the government and Spain. "And I reaffirmed the government's commitment to the political rights of all Venezuelans." The left-leaning government in Madrid will work for dialogue and negotiations between the government and the opposition "to achieve a peaceful solution for Venezuelans", he emphasized.

Following the presidential election on July 28, the electoral authority, which is loyal to the government, declared Nicolás Maduro, the authoritarian head of state who has been in power for eleven years, the winner. However, it did not publish a breakdown of the results. The opposition accuses the government of electoral fraud and is claiming victory for González, against whom an arrest warrant was issued last week.

Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodríguez wrote on Instagram that González had been in Spain's embassy in the capital Caracas for days and had asked the EU country for asylum. There had been contacts between the two governments and Venezuela had finally granted González safe passage in the interests of political peace.

The opposition initially made no public statements on the matter. It is unclear to what extent González's departure will change the political situation.

The USA and several Latin American countries recognize González as the winner of the election. The European Union is also questioning the official election result.

The opposition had published data on the election: according to them, results from more than 83 percent of the constituencies. According to this, González is said to have received 67 percent of the votes - and Maduro only 30 percent.

González wanted on arrest warrant

The 75-year-old González had become a candidate after opposition leader María Corina Machado was banned from holding public office due to alleged irregularities from her time as a member of parliament. A court issued an arrest warrant for González last week. Among other things, he was accused of usurping office, incitement to disobey the law, conspiracy and sabotage.

González ignored three summonses from the public prosecutor's office. The whereabouts of the former diplomat were recently unknown. Machado is also in hiding. Maduro said that both should be behind bars.

Protests broke out during the election, which were violently suppressed by the authorities. According to the human rights organization Provea, 25 people lost their lives and more than 2,400 were arrested. The opposition denounced the arbitrary arrests of some of its representatives.

Venezuela bans Brazil from representing Argentina

Six members of the opposition had already sought refuge in the Argentinian embassy in Caracas in March and are still there. Following the expulsion of Argentina's diplomats from Venezuela in the dispute over the election results, Brazil has been administering the embassy of its neighboring country since August. This will no longer be permitted, Venezuela's government announced on Saturday. The reason for this were indications that terrorist activities and murder plots against Maduro and Vice President Rodríguez had been planned at the embassy.

According to Argentina's government, the embassy has been surrounded by Venezuelan security forces and secret service agents since Friday evening (local time). On Friday, Argentina had asked the prosecuting authority of the International Criminal Court in The Hague to request an arrest warrant for Maduro.

Some countries do not recognize Maduro's victory

Maduro's previous re-election in 2018 had already not been recognized by many countries. Juan Guaidó, then president of parliament, declared himself interim president, but was unable to assert himself in the country - mainly because the military backed Maduro. The latter had become president in 2013 following the death of Hugo Chávez as his designated successor.

Venezuela suffers from mismanagement, corruption and international sanctions. More than 80 percent of the population live below the poverty line. According to UN figures, more than seven million people - around a quarter of the population - have left the country in recent years.

SDA