The former opposition presidential candidate of Venezuela, Edmundo González, has left for Spain in the wake of the disputed elections in the South American country, Venezuelan and Spanish officials said on Saturday night, following a day of escalating diplomatic tensions.
75-year-old González, who ran against President Nicolás Maduro in July, left after “voluntarily seeking refuge at the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago,” said Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez on Instagram.
“Edmundo González took off from Caracas bound for Spain on a Spanish Air Force plane,” wrote Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez on X, stating that Madrid responded to González’s request, according to Reuters.
González’s departure from Venezuela is the latest political development following the country’s elections on July 28.
The Venezuelan opposition claims that the elections resulted in a resounding victory for González and published online the vote counts that, they say, indicate he won.
This week, prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for González in connection with the online publication of the counts, accusing him among other things of usurpation of functions, forgery of public documents, and conspiracy.