Venezuela’s opposition presidential candidate who ran against Nicolás Maduro in July elections has left the country, vice-president Delcy Rodriguez said on Saturday.
Edmundo González was granted political asylum in Spain and left the nation on Saturday, Ms Rodríguez said. His departure comes a week after the government ordered his arrest.
He sought refuge at Spain’s embassy in Caracas several days ago and that the two nations arranged for his passage this weekend, she added.
The move is likely to draw further outcry from the US and other countries that have concluded Mr González was the winner of the July 28th vote. Venezuelan authorities have declared instead, without evidence, that Mr Maduro was re-elected to a third term.
Prosecutors are accusing Mr González of breaking the law because the opposition uploaded voting records to show he won in a landslide. Mr González is accused of crimes including forging a public document, incitement to disobedience of laws, conspiracy and sabotage, according to the arrest warrant published Monday on Venezuela’s Prosecutor’s Office Instagram account.
His departure comes amid an increasing government crackdown, as dozens of Mr Maduro’s agents have stationed themselves outside Argentina’s embassy in Caracas since Friday, threatening to go after opposition campaign workers who have sheltered there for months. – Agencies