Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has arrived in Spain to seek asylum, officials in Madrid say, hours after quitting his country amid a political and diplomatic crisis over July's disputed election.
Gonzalez - who has challenged President Nicolas Maduro's declaration of victory - arrived at the Torrejon de Ardoz military base with his wife, Spain's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The dramatic exit of the 75-year-old - seen by the United States, the European Union and other powers in the region as the winner of the vote - came a week after Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes.
Spain welcomes Edmundo González.— Spain MFA (@SpainMFA) Edmundo González has taken off from Caracas en route to Spain in a Spanish Air Force plane.🔗https://t.co/NhrvpGgzmM pic.twitter.com/rJW5iCEb1bSeptember 8, 2024
"Today is a sad day for democracy in Venezuela," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.Â
"In a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country."
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Instagram authorities had given Gonzalez safe passage in a bid to restore "political peace".
He left Venezuela after "voluntarily seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago," she wrote.
Venezuela's opposition say the July 28 election resulted in a resounding victory for Gonzalez and published vote tallies online that they say show he won.
Maduro has dismissed all such assertions and says there was a conservative plot to sabotage his government.
Gonzalez's move to Spain marked another jolting shift in the fortunes of the former diplomat who came out of retirement and took over the candidacy in March, initially as a placeholder after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and then another replacement could not stand.
Machado confirmed on X that Gonzalez was now in Spain.
A los venezolanos, — MarÃa Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) Edmundo González UrrutÃa, Presidente electo de Venezuela ha salido del paÃs y se encuentra en España. A partir de nuestra histórica victoria del 28 de julio de 2024, el régimen desató una brutal ola de represión en contra de todos los ciudadanos,…September 8, 2024
Attorney General Tarek Saab, who met with Gonzalez's lawyer and who has been one of the opposition's most strident accusers, held a press conference on Sunday saying the government knew the "exact moment" Gonzalez entered the Spanish embassy and agreed to give him safe passage to leave the country.
In a recording obtained by Reuters after Gonzalez arrived in Spain, he said his exit from Caracas was "surrounded by pressure, coercion and threats."
"I trust that we'll soon continue the fight for liberty and the return to democracy in Venezuela," Gonzalez said.
Spain's foreign ministry said Gonzalez's asylum process would now start - "the resolution of which will be favourable in view of Spain's commitment to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelan men and women, especially political leaders".
Spanish officials, including former prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, held a week of negotiations with Venezuelan authorities for Gonzalez to leave the country, a source with knowledge of the talks told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.Â