The Venezuelan government has said opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has left the country, seeking asylum in Spain.
Mr González has been in hiding, and a warrant issued for his arrest after the opposition disputed July’s presidential election result – in which the government-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Nicolás Maduro the winner.
“After taking refuge voluntarily at the Spanish embassy in Caracas a few days ago, (Gonzalez Urrutia) asked the Spanish government for political asylum,” Venezuela’s Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez said on social media.
She added that Caracas had agreed to his safe passage and that he had left.
Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares said Mr González had departed the country at his own request, and on a Spanish Air Force plane.
He added that Spain’s government is committed to the political rights of all Venezuelans.
Venezuela has been in a political crisis since authorities declared President Maduro the victor of the 28 July election.
The opposition claimed it had evidence Mr González had won by a comfortable margin, and uploaded detailed voting tallies to the internet which suggest Mr González beat Mr Maduro convincingly.
A number of countries, including the United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries, have refused to recognize President Maduro as the winner without Caracas releasing detailed voting data.
The government of President Maduro has detained more than 2,400 people since the election, creating what the UN has called “a climate of fear”.
Image source, Reuters
The opposition has questioned the validity of a victory for President Maduro
Mr González had been in hiding since 30 July, ignoring three successive summons to appear before court. He had feared his arrest following statements made by leading government politicians who said he should be “behind bars”.
The 75-year-old had not been widely known before March this year, when the main opposition coalition registered him as its candidate.
The opposition’s original choice for presidential candidate had been the charismatic María Corina Machado, who had won an open primary with 93% of votes.
But when her efforts to overturn a ban which barred her from running from public office were rebuffed by the government-controlled authorities, the opposition had to find an alternative candidate.
After another opposition candidate was also barred, the opposition put forward Mr González’s name.
Fearing he too could be barred from running, the opposition kept Mr González in the background, while Ms Machado criss-crossed the country calling on people to vote for him.
On election night, Mr González appeared side-by-side with María Corina Machado disputing the announcement by the CNE, which had declared Mr Maduro the winner with 52% of the votes.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter, external to get the latest alerts.
