Edmundo Gonzalez, who stood in the presidential election on July 28 and faced President Nicolas Maduro, has left Venezuela, the vice president writes in a post on Instagram.
He, along with five other opposition politicians, has been at Argentina’s embassy in Venezuela. They have sought refuge there after the disputed election, in which both President Maduro and Gonzalez declared themselves winners.
Accused of crime
Prosecutors have accused Gonzalez of crimes and because he was afraid of being arrested, he has now fled the country and sought asylum in Spain.
During Friday, Venezuela allegedly turned off the electricity to the embassy and police surrounded it.
According to Clarin newspaper, Venezuela was preparing to storm the embassy.
Argentina has accused Maduro of election fraud and called on the International Criminal Court to arrest the president.
Election data not reported
Even the EU, the USA, the UN and several of Venezuela’s neighboring countries have questioned Maduro’s announcement that he won the election – election data has not been reported in its entirety.
“After voluntarily taking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas a few days ago, Gonzalez Urrutia asked the Spanish government for political asylum,” writes Vice President Rodriguez, adding that the opposition leader left the country on Saturday.