Monday, September 9, 2024, 3:02 PM
Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab has described the departure to Spain of Edmundo González Urrutia as the “final chapter” of a work done with “blood, sweat and tears,” in reference to the confrontation between the opposition and the government of Nicolás Maduro following the elections of July 28.
Saab has been one of the main whips of the candidate of the Democratic Unitary Platform, against whom the Public Prosecutor’s Office has formalized a battery of serious charges after González declared himself the winner of the elections and accusations of fraud against the Chavista regime arose. According to the prosecutor, the fact that the opposition candidate has left the country will contribute to putting an end to the “anxiety” of Venezuelan society, understood, in the version of the government, as the concern about the street protests against the electoral fraud, which Maduro calls acts of “terrorism” or coup actions.
Meanwhile, the United States government has stressed that the opposition candidate’s need to go into exile in Spain is a consequence of the “undemocratic” measures of the Chavista regime. “His departure from Venezuela is the direct result of the undemocratic measures that Nicolás Maduro has unleashed against the Venezuelan people since the elections,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced in a statement. The White House has announced that it will maintain its support for Edmundo González in his calls for “freedom and the restoration of democracy” in Venezuela and adds that it sees in him “an indisputable voice for peace and democratic change.”
Blinken explained that Maduro “uses repression and intimidation to cling to power through brute force” in order to avoid recognizing “his defeat at the polls.” The Chavista president proclaimed himself president after an electoral process riddled with irregularities and resolved in the “Nicaraguan way,” that is, with a brief statement that granted him victory at the polls without even providing an official document or endorsement of the votes collected.
A “forced exile”
The opposition candidate, who according to 83.3% of the electoral records had a lead of more than three million votes over Maduro, requested asylum as a victim of political persecution. His party colleague, María Corina Machado, warned that his life was in danger if he remained in Venezuela. Since the beginning of the protests, more than 2,000 people, including dozens of opposition leaders, have been arrested and imprisoned. Now, various members of the dissident coalition have called on citizens to maintain pressure on the government since González’s exile “does not change” the result of the July 28 elections. This is what the leader of La Causa R. Andrés Velásquez has said on his social networks, where he has stated that the “massive avalanche vote” showed a clear victory for Edmundo González.
Most governments in the region have described the candidate’s departure as a “forced exile.” The Organization of American States (OAS) stresses that the Chavista regime “has not only failed to present evidence of electoral results, but has forced the exile of Edmundo González.” It states that “there is no doubt that González won” the elections, as demonstrated by the subsequent maneuvers of Maduro’s cabinet and the Attorney General’s Office until he was formally charged with several crimes.
Except for Brazil, whose president, Lula da Silva, has avoided referring to this episode, and nations such as Nicaragua and Cuba, staunch defenders of Maduro’s victory, dozens of Latin American leaders have lamented the “forced exile” of the opposition leader. “The persecution, harassment and political violence to which he was subjected” have forced him to “leave his country in conditions that put his safety at risk,” the Chilean government has noted.
#Venezuelan #Attorney #General #calls #Edmundo #Gonzalezs #departure #Spain #final #chapter #Diario #Vasco