Edmundo González assured that he was not coerced by the Spanish government into exile

• The opposition leader explained that all the arrangements for his transfer were supervised by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Alabares.

Opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia clarified in a statement on Thursday, September 19, that he was not coerced by the Spanish government or its diplomatic corps to be transferred and granted asylum in that country. This follows his first statement the day before in which he denounced that he received threats to sign a document recognizing the government of Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the presidential elections.

“I have not been coerced by the Spanish government or by the Spanish ambassador in Venezuela, Ramón Santos. The diplomatic efforts carried out had the sole purpose of facilitating my departure from the country, without exerting any kind of pressure on me,” he said in the statement, which was leaked to the press although it has not yet been published on his social networks.

He stressed that the Spanish government had promised to guarantee his safety during his flight on a Spanish Air Force plane and during the process of his political asylum in that country. He added that all the arrangements were directly supervised by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, “ensuring my well-being and freedom of choice at all times,” he added.

Under duress

Photo: RTVE

Since September 17, a statement in which González acknowledged the Supreme Court’s ruling has been circulating in various media outlets close to Nicolás Maduro’s government. This was apparent evidence that the presidential candidate, declared the winner by the opposition and several Latin American governments, was giving in to the government’s continued rule.

However, shortly before the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, showed the statement at a press conference, González published a video recounting the details of his departure from the country. There he assured that Rodríguez and the executive vice president Delcy Rodríguez had met with him at the Spanish Embassy where they made him sign the document.

“In other words, either I signed or I would face the consequences. There were very tense hours of coercion, blackmail and pressure. At that time I considered that I could be more useful, free than locked up and unable to fulfill the tasks entrusted to me by the sovereign,” he said. For that reason, he denounced that the document was “void of validity” because it did not have his consent.

However, the role of Ambassador Santos, who interceded in the meeting with the Rodríguez brothers and escorted González to the plane, was widely questioned by sectors of the Spanish opposition. Also Albares himself, who was accused of being an accomplice by the Popular Party (PP), which asked for his resignation. Hence González’s clarification, indicating that his coercion only came from the Maduro government.

Gratitude

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. Photo: courtesy of El Mundo

On his X account (formerly Twitter), Albares thanked the opposition leader for resolving the misunderstanding and disassociating the Spanish government from his complaint. Instead, he targeted the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo and the deputies who requested his complaint, and accused them of trying to politicize the situation.

“Thank you, @EdmundoGU, for defending the truth in the face of slander and insults against Spain and its foreign service. There are times to be in opposition @NunezFeijoo @ppopular and others when you have to be one country. Spain is committed to democracy and human rights,” he said.

Both Albares and Núñez Feijóo met with González upon his arrival in Madrid, and both have publicly expressed their support for him. He also held meetings with the current Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, as well as former Prime Ministers Felipe González, Mariano Rajoy and José María Aznar.

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