CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, potentially delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single-party rule by the regime of socialist President Nicolas Maduro.
The surprise departure of the man considered by Venezuela’s opposition and several foreign governments to be the legitimate winner of July’s presidential race was announced late Saturday night by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. Mr. Gonzalez was expected to arrive in Spain on Sunday.
Ms. Rodriguez said the government decided to grant Mr. Gonzalez safe passage out of the country, just days after ordering his arrest, to help restore “the country’s political peace and tranquility.”
It was unclear what impact the move would have on Venezuela’s deepening political crisis. Mr. Gonzalez, an obscure, 75-year-old former diplomat, had been a last-minute stand-in when Ms. Machado was banned from running against Mr. Maduro. His dark-horse campaign nonetheless rapidly ignited the hopes of millions of Venezuelans desperate for change after a decade-long economic freefall under the socialist government.
While regime election officials declared Mr. Maduro the winner of the July vote, most Western governments, including Spain, have yet to recognize his victory and are instead demanding that authorities publish a breakdown of votes. Meanwhile, tally sheets collected by opposition volunteers from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines indicate that Mr. Gonzalez won by a more than 2-to-1 margin.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab, a staunch Maduro ally, sought Mr. Gonzalez’s arrest after he failed to appear three times in connection with a criminal investigation into what the government said was an act of electoral sabotage. Mr. Saab told reporters that the voting records the opposition shared online were forged and an attempt to undermine the National Electoral Council.
Neither Mr. Gonzalez nor opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has commented on the move. But Spain’s center-left government said the decision to leave Venezuela was Mr. Gonzalez’s alone and he departed on a plane sent by the country’s air force. In the face of a mounting intimidation campaign by the regime, Mr. Gonzalez had been staying at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas before leaving.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Spanish national broadcaster RTVE that his government will grant Mr. Gonzalez political asylum as he has requested. Mr. Albares spoke from Oman while en route to China with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on a state visit.
“I have been able to speak to [Mr. Gonzalez] and, once he was aboard the airplane, he expressed his gratitude toward the Spanish government and Spain,” Mr. Albares said. “Of course, I told him we were pleased that he is well and on his way to Spain, and I reiterated the commitment of our government to the political rights of all Venezuelans.”
Mr. Sanchez said in a speech before Mr. Gonzalez’s departure was announced that the opposition leader was “a hero whom Spain is not going to abandon.”
The European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, in a statement Sunday described it as “a sad day for democracy in Venezuela,” and also disclosed that the Dutch had been involved in helping Mr. Gonzalez leave.
“Faced with repression, political persecution and direct threats to his safety and freedom, after being given hospitality at the residence of the Netherlands in Caracas until Sept. 5, political leader and presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has had to request political asylum and accept the protection offered by Spain,” he said.
Exiled opposition politician Franco Casella told RTVE that Mr. Gonzalez would continue to campaign against the regime from abroad in what he called a dual leadership role with Ms. Machado, who Mr. Casella said remains in hiding in Venezuela.
He said he understood that some people who opposed Mr. Maduro might feel “orphaned” by Mr. Gonzalez’s departure but, he said, “This is going to be capitalized positively …. and my message is that this is not the time for tears, it is time for us to remain united against the dictatorship.”
Spain has been a major point of exodus for Venezuelans, particularly those leading the opposition to Mr. Maduro’s regime.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.