CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, dealing a blow to millions who had pinned their hopes on his campaign to end two decades of one-party rule.
The surprise departure of Gonzalez, considered by the Venezuelan opposition and several foreign governments as the legitimate winner of the July presidential contest, was announced on Saturday night by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.
He said the government decided to grant Gonzalez a pass to leave the country, just days after ordering his arrest, to help restore “peace and political tranquility in the country.” Neither Gonzalez nor opposition leader Maria Corina Machado have commented on the matter.
The Spanish Air Force plane carrying Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González to Spain landed at Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base (Madrid).
According to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, González, who is travelling accompanied by his wife and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, Diego Martínez Belío, was received by the Secretary of State for Ibero-America and Spanish in the World, Susana Sumelzo.
“From now on, the process for requesting asylum will begin, the resolution of which will be favourable in the interest of Spain’s commitment to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans, especially political leaders,” the department said.
But Spain’s centre-left government said the decision to leave Venezuela was Gonzalez’s alone and that he left on a plane sent by the country’s air force.
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Spanish national broadcaster RTVE that his government will grant Gonzalez political asylum as he has requested. Albares spoke as he was heading to China with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on a state visit.
“I was able to speak with him (González) and once on the plane he expressed his gratitude to the Spanish Government and to Spain,” said Albares. “Of course I told him that we are glad that he is well and on his way to Spain, and I reiterated our Government’s commitment to the political rights of all Venezuelans.”
Sanchez said in a speech on Friday, before Gonzalez’s departure was announced, that the opposition leader was “a hero that Spain will not abandon.”
EU foreign minister Josep Borrell in a statement on Sunday called the day “a sad day for democracy in Venezuela,” and also revealed that the Dutch had been involved in helping Gonzalez.
“Faced with repression, political persecution and direct threats to his safety and freedom, after receiving hospitality at the residence of the Netherlands in Caracas until September 5, the political leader and presidential candidate Edmundo González has had to request political asylum and accept the protection offered to him by Spain,” he said.
While Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner of the July election, most Western governments have yet to recognize his victory, instead demanding that authorities publish a breakdown of the vote. Meanwhile, tally sheets collected by opposition volunteers from more than two-thirds of electronic voting machines indicate that González won by a margin of more than 2 to 1.
Recount records have long been considered definitive proof of election results in Venezuela. In previous presidential elections, the National Electoral Council published online the results from each of the more than 30,000 voting machines, but the Maduro-controlled panel did not publish any data this time, blaming an alleged cyberattack organized by his North Macedonia opponents.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab, a staunch Maduro ally, requested Gonzalez’s arrest after he failed to appear three times in connection with a criminal investigation into what he considers an act of electoral sabotage.
Saab told reporters that the voting records shared online by the opposition were falsified and an attempt to undermine the National Electoral Council.
Experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center, which observed the election at Maduro’s invitation, determined that the results announced by electoral authorities lacked credibility. In a statement critical of the election, the U.N. experts stopped short of validating the opposition’s claim of victory but said the voting records posted online appear to exhibit all the original security features.
Exiled opposition politician Franco Casella told RTVE that Gonzalez would continue to campaign against the regime from abroad in what he called a dual leadership role with Machado, who Casella said remains in hiding in Venezuela.
He said he understood that some people who opposed Maduro might feel “orphaned” by González’s departure but, he said, “this will be capitalized on positively… and my message is that this is not a time for tears, it is time for us to remain united against the dictatorship.”
Spain has been a major point of exodus for Venezuelans, particularly those leading the opposition to Maduro’s regime. They include Leopoldo López, who fled to Spain to reunite with his family in 2020, and Antonio Ledezma, who left in 2017.
Some 44,000 Venezuelans emigrated to Spain in the first six months of this year. The latest government statistics for 2022 indicated that some 212,000 Venezuelans resided in Spain.
