Venezuela|Edmundo González Urrutia arrived in Spain on Sunday after seeking political asylum.
to Spain arrived Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia swears that the fight for his country’s democracy will continue.
The 75-year-old opposition leader said in an audio message released by his team that he is confident that the fight for freedom and the restoration of democracy in Venezuela will continue soon.
González Urrutia arrived in Spain with his spouse on Sunday afternoon, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said earlier that Spain will grant political asylum to González Urrutia.
The foreign minister already said before this that a Spanish military plane is bringing González Urrutia to Spain.
“After voluntarily seeking refuge at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas, González Urrutia applied to the Spanish government for political asylum,” the minister wrote message service in X.
According to Albares, Spain is committed to defending the political rights of all Venezuelans.
of the United States foreign minister Antony Blinken showed his support for González Urrutia on Sunday. He said messaging service in X Venezuelans voted for the change. He criticized the president Nicolas Maduro repression after the election, which has resulted in people being killed and imprisoned.
“The winning candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, remains the best hope for democracy,” Blinken said.
González Urrutia’s departure from Venezuela is a direct result of the anti-democratic actions President Maduro has unleashed, Blinken later added in a statement.
“The will of the people must be respected,” Blinken concluded his message in X.
González from Urrutia an arrest warrant was issued on Monday. He has been in hiding since July’s disputed presidential election. The Venezuelan opposition considers González Urrutia the real winner of the election.
In Caracas, Venezuelan security forces have surrounded the Argentine embassy, where other representatives of the opposition have fled. According to the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, terrorist attacks are being planned at the embassy.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado comment in X González Urrutia had to flee because his life was in danger due to the actions of the government. González Urrutia was chosen as the opposition’s presidential candidate after Machado’s candidacy was blocked by election authorities.
Venezuela has been in political crisis since the country’s autocratic President Maduro declared himself the winner of presidential elections in July.
According to the opposition, the elections were fraudulent. The election result has been widely questioned both domestically and internationally.
Maduro was accused of electoral fraud already after the 2017 elections. He has led the country since 2013.
Maduro’s reign has driven the country into a miserable state: the gross national product has fallen by 80 percent, and more than seven million of the country’s 30 million inhabitants have left the country.
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