Venezuela's Opposition Candidate Flees to Exile in Spain

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Facts

  • Venezuela's opposition candidate Edmundo González arrived in Spain on Sunday, where he was granted political asylum, after fleeing his own country where he faced an arrest warrant for electoral sabotage and other charges related to the disputed presidential election.[1][2][3][4]
  • Despite official claims that González himself requested political asylum from Spain, and was then granted the due safe conducts, sources alleged to El País that his exile is the result of talks that involved some of Nicolás Maduro's closest allies.[5][6]
  • González secretly took refuge in the Dutch embassy in Caracas the day after the July 28 vote, reportedly staying there until he moved to the Spanish embassy on Sept. 5, amid fears of arrest and potential danger to his life.[2][3][7]
  • His departure comes as police surrounded the Argentine embassy in Caracas, which has sheltered several opposition figures, after Venezuela notified Brazil that its custody of the Argentine premises had been revoked with immediate effect.[5][8][9]
  • Venezuela's electoral authority and Supreme Court declared Maduro the winner, but the opposition and some nations, including the US, claim that González won the vote. Spain has refused to recognize a winner until voting data is released.[1][3][10]
  • Relatively unknown before March this year, González entered the presidential race as a replacement for opposition leader María Corina Machado after she was barred from running for office. For now, she remains free in Venezuela.[3][4]

Sources: [1]Wsj, [2]CNN, [3]BBC News, [4]New York Times, [5]EL PAÍS English, [6]teleSURenglish, [7]Últimas Noticias, [8]Guardian, [9]Voz Media and [10]The Diplomatinspain.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Washington Post. Sadly, the president-elect had no option other than to flee to Spain, especially as actions against the Argentine embassy made it clear that there would be no such thing as a safe haven in Venezuela. From exile, González will be able to connect with the diaspora to help those fighting at home to ensure respect for the will of the people.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Caracas Chronicles. It's only natural that opposition leaders are expressing words of encouragement after González left the country, but Venezuelans are all too familiar with what happens now. From exile, the president-elect will see his leadership collapse and become a joke to the government. María Corina Machado is now the only hope for Venezuela.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by RT. Once again, Nicolás Maduro and his government have shown good faith when it comes to dealing with US-backed opposition figures. Despite an arrest warrant for González on multiple charges including conspiracy and forgery of public documents, authorities in Venezuela granted him safe passage to leave the country so that peace can prevail.

Predictions