From Venezuela to Spain: Edmundo González’s Quest for Safety and Stability

• The opposition leader arrived in Spain on Sunday, September 8, to begin the process of being accepted after the Public Ministry in Venezuela opened an investigation and issued an arrest warrant against him.

Former presidential candidate Edmundo González landed at the Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base in Madrid (Spain) on Sunday, September 8.

The Spanish government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that it was a request made by González to the authorities of that country, while the Venezuelan government officials maintained that it was a political negotiation between both parties for the exile of the opposition leader.

In The Diary We explain what is known about the terms of González’s departure from the country and the reactions of political actors to the decision:

Investigation against Edmundo Gonzalez

Photo: EFE

Edmundo González, who is 75 years old, was in hiding in Venezuela after the Court of First Instance in Control Functions issued a ruling on September 2 an arrest warrant against him.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office accused him of “usurpation of functions”, “forgery of public documents”, “instigation to disobedience of laws”, “conspiracy”, “sabotage to damage systems and association (to commit a crime)”, according to the published citations by the judicial body on social networks.

The investigation against González is related to the publication of a Web pagein which the PUD claims to have uploaded “83.5% of the electoral records” collected by witnesses and table members on election night, to support its claim of fraud in the presidential elections of July 28.

The PUD released these minutes, which the Executive calls “false,” after the National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the elections. However, opposition leader María Corina Machado assumed the responsibility for the publication of the minutes on this platform.

“I take responsibility for the minutes because they are legal, legitimate and express the popular sovereignty of the Venezuelan people,” Machado said on September 5 through X, minutes after the Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, reiterated the existence of an arrest warrant against González for the dissemination of these documents.

Faced with this situation, Edmundo González took a position in a video released on August 25 in which he asserted that the summons does not have guarantees of “independence” and “due process.”

On September 6, González’s lawyer, José Vicente Haro, reiterated, after a meeting with Saab, that the Public Ministry attributes responsibilities and crimes to him that the opponent has “nothing to do with,” so the conditions were not met so that the opponent could appear before the judicial body.

The news of Edmundo González’s exile

Photo: EFE

The news of Edmundo González’s departure was known in the evening hours of Saturday, September 7. The vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, published the information through their social networks and was then replicated by various actors in the Venezuelan government.

Following the announcement, José Vicente Haro, his lawyer, confirmed the opposition leader’s departure from the country, without offering further details.

Spain’s decision to host the opposition leader was announced hours after Pedro Sánchez, in his speech at the meeting of the PSOE Federal Committee, pointed out that the opposition leader is “a hero whom Spain will not abandon.”

Request for asylum in Spain

Photo: RTVE

José Manuel Albares, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Spain, indicated that Spain began to process political asylum González at the request of the opposition on Sunday, September 8. The head of that country’s diplomacy alleged that there was no negotiation to achieve his departure from Venezuelan territory.

“There has been no political negotiation between the Spanish and Venezuelan governments. Political asylum was a personal request by Edmundo González,” said the Spanish foreign minister.

The version contradicts the statements made by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who assured that the measure consisted of an agreement between both governments because “Venezuela granted the safe-conduct passes for the sake of peace and political tranquility in the country.”

Before the asylum application, Caspar Veldkamp, ​​Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, reported that González He was secretly housed in the Dutch embassy in Caracas for over a month.

Veldkamp said that the reception took place until September 5, at the request of the opposition flag bearer, who then reportedly moved to the residence of the Spanish Embassy in Caracas days before his trip to that country.

Maria Corina Machado claimed that Gonzalez’s departure from the country “was necessary”

Photo: EFE

Maria Corina Machado indicated on September 8 that the departure of Edmundo Gonzalez from Venezuela was necessary for “preserve their freedom, integrity and life.”

Machado said the decision was in response to the threats and actions of the Venezuelan government against González, which he condemned and described as measures to “silence” him.

“His life was in danger, and the increasing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even attempts at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected, demonstrate that the regime has no scruples or limits in its obsession with silencing him and trying to subdue him,” wrote the opposition member.

The opposition leader said that the candidate of the Unitary Platform for Democracy will be sworn in on January 10 as the “president-elect of the country” and alleged that González will continue “fighting” outside of Venezuela, while she will continue from within the national territory.

Opposition leaders such as Delsa Solórzano and Juan Pablo Guanipa have also spoken out about the decision. Solórzano agreed that it was a “forced” measure due to “the threats, harassment and persecution of the regime.”

“Edmundo has left, for now, to protect his life and freedom, but also to protect the victory that the nation obtained,” wrote the president of the political party Encuentro Ciudadano.

Guanipa, for his part, described González’s departure as an “exile” and urged citizens to “continue fighting to ensure that the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people, exercised through the vote, is respected.”

“We all know the relentless persecution carried out by the Maduro dictatorship, which ended with an arrest warrant for the execution of crimes that were committed by Maduro and his accomplices,” Guanipa said in a video posted on his X account (Twitter).

The international community claims that González was forced into exile

Photo: EFE

The Organization of American States (OAS) published on Sunday, September 8 a statement in which he accused the Venezuelan government of “having forced the exile of Edmundo González,” who He came to Spain to request political asylum.

“One month and ten days before the presidential elections in Venezuela, the regime has not only failed to produce the slightest evidence of an electoral result, but has forced the exile of candidate Edmundo González – who, taking into account what has happened since the date of the election, undoubtedly won – based on unsubstantiated summons to the Attorney General’s Office and threats of imprisonment. This action by the Venezuelan authoritarian regime is obviously condemnable and reprehensible,” the organization’s text states.

In the text, the OAS condemned the measures of the Venezuelan authorities and the persecution against opposition leaders.

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, said that September 8 is “a sad day for democracy” due to Edmundo González’s need to request political asylum and accept the protection of Spain.

“In a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country,” stressed the head of European diplomacy.

Borrell recalled that “Edmundo González, according to the copies of the electoral records of the elections of July 28, would be the presidential candidate who won the elections by a large majority.”

As of September 8, the National Electoral Council (CNE) has not published the electoral records certifying Nicolás Maduro’s victory, as required by law. For its part, the PUD released the electoral records showing that González won by a wide margin, which sparked protests in the country that left, at least, 1,793 political prisoners and 11 deadaccording to the non-governmental organization (NGO) Foro Penal.

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