The Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González is expected to arrive in Spain, where he will be granted political asylum.
A Spanish Air Force plane is due to land at Torrejon air base in Madrid. Mr González had departed the country at his own request, according to Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares.
Mr González has been in hiding, with an arrest warrant issued for him after the opposition disputed July’s presidential election result – in which the government-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Nicolás Maduro the winner.
Venezuela’s Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez said Mr González had asked the Spanish government for political asylum.
She said in a social media post that after “voluntarily” seeking refuge at the Spanish embassy in Caracas some days ago, Madrid had agreed to his safe passage.
Spanish media reported that a plane carrying Mr González had stopped off in Portugal’s Azores islands and was expected in Spain in the coming hours.
The Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares said that Spain’s government was committed to the political rights of all Venezuelans and has confirmed that Mr González will be granted asylum.
The departure of the 75-year-old, who is seen by the US, the EU and several Latin American countries as the winner of the 28 July election, came a week after Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes.
While he has departed, security forces in Venezuela have surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital, Caracas. Six political opponents of President Maduro are sheltering there. The country’s foreign ministry alleged that terrorist acts were being plotted inside.
Members of the Venezuelan opposition posted pictures and videos of security vehicles around the embassy complex, Reuters news agency reported.
Venezuela has been in a political crisis since authorities declared President Maduro the election’s victor.
Credit: bbc.com
