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Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González fled to Spain on Saturday, having taken refuge in the Spanish embassy after an arrest warrant was issued against him as part of President Nicolás Maduro’s political crackdown.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan security forces are said to have surrounded the Argentine embassy in Caracas, the BBC reported, where other opposition politicians are also said to be hiding.
González ran against Maduro in the country’s much-publicized presidential election in July, which both claimed to have won. However, with the support of the country’s courts and military, Maduro was eventually declared the winner, despite international criticism and a lack of evidence to support the claim.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said authorities exiled González in an effort to “contribute to political peace.” Opposition leader María Corina Machado — who was barred from running in the presidential election — remains in hiding and has no apparent plans to flee the country. But she said Thursday that it is “more difficult and risky” to stay as the political crisis deepens.
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Venezuela has used arrest warrants in the past to force opposition figures into exile, The Caracas Chronicles noted: Maduro “could have arrested him [them] at any time’, but apparently refused, potentially leaving González – and his claim to the presidency – behind.
Several countries have recognized González as the rightful winner of July’s election, while in Venezuela thousands of people have been arrested during protests against Maduro. However, it is unclear what impact González’s departure will have on the ongoing unrest.
According to the BBC, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said González’s flight was “a sad day for democracy in Venezuela,” adding that “in a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country.”
