[Source: Reuters]

Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez flew into Spain on Sunday to seek asylum, Madrid said, 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 exit of the 75-year-old – seen by the U.S., the EU 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.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Instagram authorities had given Gonzalez safe passage in a bid to restore “political peace”. Spain’s foreign ministry said there had been no official talks with the Venezuelan government on Gonzalez’s exit.

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 right-wing 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, adding he had fled to protect his “freedom, his integrity and his life”.

Gonzalez would continue to fight for the opposition from Spain, while she would continue to do so within Venezuela, Machado said, and vowed that he would be sworn in on Jan. 10, 2025, when the next presidential term begins.