Venezuela’s former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has left for Spain in the wake of the South American country’s disputed election, Venezuelan and Spanish officials said Saturday night, a day after heightened diplomatic tensions.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez posted on Instagram that Gonzalez, 75, who ran against President Nicolas Maduro in July, “voluntarily took refuge at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas a few days ago.”
“Edmundo Gonzalez has left Caracas for Spain on a Spanish Air Force plane,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez posted on X. He said Madrid was acting on Gonzalez’s request.
Gonzalez’s departure from Venezuela is the latest political development since the country’s election on July 28. Democracies around the world have criticized the Venezuelan government’s conduct of the vote, which election officials and its top court say resulted in a victory for Maduro.
Venezuela’s opposition says Gonzalez won a landslide victory in the election and has published vote tallies online, showing he has won.
Prosecutors this week issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez in connection with the online publication, accusing him of usurping office, 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 the administration of the embassy where six opposition leaders are taking refuge.
Venezuela has severed ties with Argentina following the presidential election. Like Colombia and Mexico, Brazil has also asked the Venezuelan government to publish the full results of the vote.
The government has not done so, and the country’s electoral authority has said Maduro won re-election to a third term.
In a statement, Venezuela said the decision took immediate effect after it was proven that the embassy was being used to plan the assassinations of Maduro and Rodriguez.
Brazil said it had received notification that its authorization had been revoked “with surprise.”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 abduct refugees living in our official residence will be strongly condemned by the international community,” Argentina said in a statement. “Such actions reinforce the belief that fundamental human rights are not respected in Maduro’s Venezuela.”
A Brazilian diplomatic source said on Saturday afternoon that Venezuela had assured Brazil that it would not attack the embassy.
In its statement, Brazil stressed that it would remain in Argentina’s custody and protect its interests, until Argentina indicates another country acceptable to Venezuela.
“In this context, the Brazilian government highlights the integrity of the facilities of the Argentine diplomatic mission, under the terms of the Vienna Conventions,” it said. It also said it housed six Venezuelan refugees, assets and records.
The growing dispute between the South American countries was first reported by Reuters.
In March, six people sought refuge 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 colleagues.
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 people dressed in black and patrolling squads from the government intelligence agency, SEBIN.
Argentina’s Foreign Ministry on Friday requested the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against Maduro and other senior government officials over post-election events.
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