The US secretary of state has said Edmundo González “remains the best hope for democracy” in Venezuela after the former presidential candidate went into exile in Spain.
Antony Blinken said on X on Sunday that González’s departure from Venezuela “is the direct result of the anti-democratic measures that [President] Nicolás Maduro has unleashed on the Venezuelan people”.
Shortly after touching down with his wife at the Torrejón de Ardoz military base outside Madrid, González said he was “confident that soon we will continue the fight to achieve freedom and the recovery of democracy in Venezuela”, in an audio message distributed by his media team.
The choice for González to leave was made because “his life was in danger”, opposition leader María Corina Machado said earlier on X, citing a “brutal wave of repression” in the aftermath of Venezuela’s 28 July election.
González, a 75-year-old retired diplomat, went to ground in the days after the ballot, which detailed voting data published by the opposition suggests he won. But Maduro has claimed victory and in early September a warrant for González’s arrest was issued for alleged crimes that could have led to him spending the rest of his life in prison.
Venezuela’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, said González, who several foreign governments have announced as the legitimate winner of the election, had left after “voluntarily seeking refuge” in the Spanish embassy. She claimed granting him safe passage out of the country was designed to “contribute to political peace”.
González had been in hiding for a month but his situation became particularly uncomfortable in recent days after he was accused of a series of crimes including criminal association, which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, and conspiracy, which can be punished with a 16-year sentence.
Maduro’s recent decision to make Diosdado Cabello, one of his political movement’s most hardline figures, interior minister also heightened concerns. Maduro’s administration has accused González and Machado, his key backer, of being part of a US-backed “fascist” counter-revolution targeting their Chavista regime.
Cabello has repeatedly called González – whom friends and acquaintances describe as a softly spoken public servant and grandfather – a coup-mongering “rat”.
Joel García, a lawyer who has defended several opposition figures in Venezuela, said that if González was charged with everything the government has accused him of, he could face a jail sentence of 30 years.
Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, told the public broadcaster RTVE on Sunday that González has requested asylum and the Spanish government “will of course process this and concede it”. The previous day, at a socialist party meeting, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, described González as “a hero who Spain will not abandon”.
Venezuela has been in political crisis since authorities declared Maduro the winner of the July election with a score of 52%. However, tally sheets collected by volunteers from more than two-thirds of electronic voting machines and published online indicate González won by a more than two-to-one margin.
Venezuela’s top court, which is controlled by Maduro’s allies, has confirmed his supposed victory but numerous countries and bodies – including the US, the EU and several Latin American nations – have refused to recognise Maduro’s re-election for a third six-year term unless Caracas releases full voting data.