Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez has left the country en route to Spain, according to his lawyer and Venezuela\u2019s vice president, after an arrest warrant was issued last week accusing him of terrorism, conspiracy and other crimes related to July\u2019s disputed presidential election. <\/p>\n
\u201cToday, September 7, opposition citizen Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who has been a voluntary refugee in the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Caracas for several days, has left the country and requested political asylum from that government,\u201d Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said in a statement. <\/p>\n
Rodriguez said Venezuela allowed Gonzalez to leave \u201cfor the sake of the tranquility and political peace of the country.\u201d <\/p>\n
Spanish Foreign Minister Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares said Gonzalez was \u201cat his own request\u201d flying to Spain on a Spanish Air Force plane. \u201cThe Government of Spain is committed to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelans,\u201d he wrote on X. <\/p>\n
Gonzalez had previously ignored at least three summons to appear before prosecutors as part of an investigation into claims he secured a resounding win in the presidential election. <\/p>\n
Authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of the election with 51% of the vote by the country\u2019s electoral authority \u2013 a body stacked with the president\u2019s allies \u2013- despite tens of thousands of election tallies published by the opposition that showed a convincing win for Gonzalez. <\/p>\n
Venezuela\u2019s opposition and multiple Latin American leaders refused to recognize Maduro\u2019s victory, which sparked deadly protests during which thousands were arrested. <\/p>\n
The United States recently placed pressure on the Venezuelan government to \u201cimmediately\u201d release specific data regarding its presidential election, citing concerns about the credibility of Maduro\u2019s claimed victory, as it also seized one of Maduro\u2019s planes, saying it was bought in violation of US sanctions. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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