Venezuela opposition candidate González leaves for Spain as diplomatic tensions rise

Venezuela’s former presidential opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia has left for Spain in the wake of the South American country’s contested election, Venezuelan and Spanish officials said on Saturday night (7 September).

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File photo. Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia (C-L) and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado (C-R) make a statement to the media the day after the presidential elections, in Caracas, Venezuela, 29 July 2024. [EPA-EFE/HENRY CHIRINOS]

Euractiv.com with Reuters 08-09-2024 07:30 3 min. read Content type: News Service Euractiv is part of the Trust Project

Venezuela's former presidential opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia has left for Spain in the wake of the South American country's contested election, Venezuelan and Spanish officials said on Saturday night (7 September) after a day of rising diplomatic tensions.

González, 75, who ran against President Nicolás Maduro in July, left after "voluntarily seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago," Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez posted on Instagram.

"Edmundo González has taken off from Caracas heading to Spain on a Spanish Air Force plane," Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares posted on X, saying Madrid was responding to a request from González.

González's exit from Venezuela is the latest political development since the country's election on 28 July. Democracies around the world have criticized the Venezuelan government's handling of the vote, which election officials and its top court say was won by Maduro.

Venezuela's opposition say the election resulted in a resounding victory for González, and published vote tallies online that they say show he won.

This week prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for González in connection to the online publication of the tallies, accusing him of usurping functions, falsifying public documents and conspiracy, among other charges.

Earlier on Saturday, Venezuela's government revoked Brazil's authorization to represent Argentine interests in the country, including administering the embassy where six opposition figures are sheltering.

Venezuela broke relations with Argentina after the presidential election. Brazil, like Colombia and Mexico, has asked the Venezuelan government to publish the full results of the vote.

The government has not done so and the country's electoral authority said Maduro won re-election for a third term.

In a statement, Venezuela said the decision, effective immediately, was due to proof that the embassy was being used to plan assassination attempts against Maduro and Rodriguez.

Brazil said it had received the communication that its authorization had been revoked "with surprise." Argentina said it rejected the "unilateral" decision. Both countries urged Maduro to respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

"Any attempt to invade or kidnap asylum seekers who remain in our official residence will be harshly condemned by the international community," Argentina said in a statement. "Actions like these reinforce the conviction that in Maduro's Venezuela, fundamental human rights are not respected."

A Brazilian diplomatic source said on Saturday afternoon that Venezuela had assured Brazil it would not invade the embassy.

In its statement, Brazil insisted it would remain in custody and defense of Argentine interests until Argentina indicated another state acceptable to Venezuela to do so.

"The Brazilian government highlights in this context, under the terms of the Vienna Conventions, the inviolability of the facilities of the Argentine diplomatic mission," it said, adding that it housed six Venezuelan asylum seekers, assets and archives.

The escalation in the spat between the South American countries was first reported by Reuters.

In March, six people sought asylum in the Argentine embassy in Caracas after a prosecutor ordered their arrest on charges including conspiracy. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has denied the allegations against her collaborators.

On Friday night, some opposition members in the Argentine residence reported on their X accounts that the building was under surveillance and had no electricity. They posted videos showing men dressed in black and patrols from the government intelligence agency, SEBIN.

Argentina's Foreign Ministry asked the International Criminal Court on Friday to issue an arrest warrant against Maduro and other senior government officials for events that occurred after the elections.

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