Venezuela opposition candidate Gonzalez leaves for Spain

Venezuela's presidential opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has left the country for Spain, Venezuelan and Spanish authorities said Sunday. 

"Edmundo Gonzalez has taken off from Caracas heading to Spain on a Spanish Air Force plane," Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on X.

His departure comes at a time of turmoil following July's disputed presidential elections in the South American country.

What happened in Venezuela's presidential election?

The election authority and Venezuela's top court declared President Nicolas Maduro, 61, the winner of the elections held on July 28. He has been in power since 2013 and this is his third term.

However, the election results have been widely contested in the country and around the world. The government has not provided any voter tallies to back up Maduro's win, despite calls for the full results to be published.

The opposition says Gonzalez, 75, won by a large margin. It has published vote tallies online supporting the claims. This week, state prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez, accusing him of falsifying public documents, conspiracy and other charges.

Gonzalez was "voluntarily seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago," Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said in a social media post.

She said Caracas had granted Gonzalez safe passage to Spain "in the interests of the country's political peace and tranquillity."

In the wake of the election, authorities have cracked down on protests against Maduro. The NGO PROVEA said 25 people have been killed and more than 2,400 people have been detained.

Diplomatic tensions

Venezuela's handling of the election and subsequent unrest has also led to diplomatic rifts in the region. Argentina and Venezuela ended diplomatic ties after the vote.

On Friday, Argentina asked the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Maduro and other senior government officials.

On Saturday, Venezuela revoked Brazil's rights to represent Argentine interests in the country, including administering the embassy where six opposition figures are sheltering.

Caracas said the decision was made because the embassy was being used to plan assassination attempts against Maduro and Rodriguez.

"Actions like these reinforce the conviction that in Maduro's Venezuela, fundamental human rights are not respected," Argentinian officials said in a statement.

Brazil, along with Colombia and Mexico, has called on the Venezuelan government to publish the full results of the elections.

tg/nm (dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters)