Spain granted asylum to Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González.
González, a presidential candidate in the 2024 elections in Venezuela, recently arrived in Spain. According to his lawyers, José Vicente Haro and Antonio Ledezma, he sought asylum due to "constant persecution and threats" to his life. González found temporary refuge in the Embassy of the Netherlands before relocating to the Spanish Embassy, from where he was eventually evacuated by a Spanish Air Force plane.
The asylum request was confirmed by Delcy Rodríguez and Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. Rodríguez emphasized that the Spanish government granted González safe conduct to prioritize "political tranquility and peace."
Spanish right-wing politicians, including those from Spain's Popular Party (PP), have criticized this decision. Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo remarked that the government should have honored the elected Venezuelan president instead of the "criminal usurper." Ione Belarra of Podemos criticized the swift action in granting asylum, especially in light of Spain's diplomatic relations with Israel, according to El Español.
In contrast, Spanish Foreign Minister Albares defended the decision. "Do you think we had to say no?" he said, according to El Español.
Venezuelan government politician Tarek William Saab condemned González’s departure, saying it concluded a "buffoon theater." The Venezuelan government labeled opposition accusations of electoral manipulation as false.
The contested elections and ongoing repression have been a focal point for opposition leaders, with demands for the release of political prisoners and the call for dialogue between the Maduro government and the opposition.
The Spanish government refuses to recognize Nicolás Maduro's electoral win.
Analyst Luz Mely Reyes commented that the exile of an opposition leader should be a wake-up call for democratic governments to increase pressure on Maduro and his allies.
Josep Borrell condemned the state of democracy in Venezuela, lamenting that "no political leader should need asylum due to repression."
María Corina Machado, another prominent Venezuelan opposition figure, vowed to continue fighting against the regime from within Venezuela. She condemned the government's tactics against González, saying "the regime has no scruples or limits in its obsession to silence and break him."
González expressed gratitude for the "expressions of solidarity" following his departure and reaffirmed his commitment to "the fight to achieve freedom and the recovery of democracy in Venezuela."
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: elestimulo.com, elmanana.com, mundiario.com, elimpulso.com, minuto30.com, diarioelvistazo.com, elnacional.com, La Razón, elmundo.es, El Español, Diario de Los Andes.