Venezuela’s opposition leader Urrutia leaves country for asylum in Spain

Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has fled the Latin American country for asylum in Spain.

The lawyer for Gonzalez Urrutia told AFP on Saturday that his client, who was in hiding since he contested President Nicolas Maduro’s July 28 re-election, has left the country for Spain.

“I confirm that he has left for Spain,” said Jose Vicente Haro, declining to comment further after the Venezuelan government said that it had allowed Gonzalez Urrutia to leave to seek asylum.

Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Sunday that Madrid will “obviously” grant political asylum to Gonzalez Urrutia.

“After taking refuge voluntarily at the Spanish embassy in Caracas a few days ago, [Gonzalez] asked the Spanish government for political asylum,” Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on social media, adding that Caracas had agreed with the former diplomat’s exit from the country.

Gonzalez Urrutia reportedly left Venezuela on a Spanish military aircraft after spending several days in hiding in the Spanish embassy in Caracas, where he fled after judicial authorities issued an arrest warrant for him.

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Gonzalez Urrutia, along with his supporters, disputed the presidential election results, insisting that he won 70 percent of the votes and gained victory in the presidential election.

Venezuela’s right-wing opposition camp is backed by the US-led Western countries.

However, Elvis Amoroso, President of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), announced Maduro won 51.2 percent of votes cast, securing a third six-year term in office for the leftist leader.

Consequently, the attorney general’s office requested an arrest warrant for Gonzalez which was issued by a court in Caracas.

Venezuela’s judicial authorities charged Gonzalez with electoral crimes including usurpation of authority, document forgery incitement to civil disobedience, and breaking the law.

President Maduro, in his first speech after being declared winner by the CNE, thanked the more than 900 election observers who had helped guarantee a fair election, and denounced those alleging election fraud, saying, “We’ve seen this movie many times before.”

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