Opposition leader remains in Venezuela to “accompany the struggle”

Photo: Ariana Cubillos Associated Press Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado

Agence France-Presse in Madrid

Posted yesterday at 10:47 AM Updated yesterday at 6:06 PM

• Amériques

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado assured her supporters on Monday that she was staying in the country to “accompany the struggle,” after candidate Edmundo González Urrutia unexpectedly fled into exile in Spain.

“I have decided to stay in Venezuela and accompany the struggle from here, while he [González Urrutia] leads it from outside,” Machado, who has been in hiding since the announcement of the disputed results of the July 28 presidential election, said in a video conference.

She said she did not know whether Mr. González Urrutia’s departure “could increase the risk” for her.

“We all know that Edmundo González Urrutia is the elected president of Venezuela. And he will remain so, whether he is in Venezuela or anywhere else in the world,” she said.

The opposition claims, with court records to back it up, that the 75-year-old former ambassador won the presidential election against Nicolás Maduro with more than 60% of the vote. The United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries do not recognize Mr. Maduro’s re-election with 52% of the vote proclaimed by the electoral authority.

The fact that he is no longer in Venezuela “changes absolutely nothing: the legitimacy is maintained, the strategy is the same,” added the opposition leader, while many Venezuelans expressed their dismay on social networks after Mr. Urrutia's arrival in Spain on Sunday.

In a letter published on the networks, the latter assured that he left so “that things change and to build a new stage for Venezuela. This decision is a gesture that extends a hand to all […] Only the policy of dialogue will allow us to come together as compatriots.”

Official communication to national and international public opinion: pic.twitter.com/TTPUQciV0Q

— Edmundo González (@EdmundoGU) September 9, 2024

“No compensation”

Before leaving for Spain, Mr. González Urrutia had ignored three summonses from the prosecution, considering that his appearance could have cost him his freedom.

He had been the subject of an arrest warrant since September 2, with the public prosecutor’s office having opened investigations for “disobedience to the law,” “conspiracy,” “usurpation of functions” and “sabotage.”

The head of Spanish diplomacy, José Manuel Albares, promised on Onda Cero radio that political asylum would “of course” be granted to him, and stressed that there had been no “return on Edmundo González’s ability to leave the country.”

The Venezuelan vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, assured that Caracas had granted the necessary safe conducts for his departure “in the interest of peace and political tranquility in the country.”

According to his entourage contacted by Agence France-Presse, the opponent should not appear publicly before the return of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, nor that of the Spanish Prime Minister, currently visiting China.

From The Hague, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) called on Caracas on Monday to “respect the rule of law”.

Without mentioning Mr. González Urrutia directly, the Office affirmed that “all persons must be protected against violations that may constitute crimes under the Rome Statute”, the founding text of the ICC.

The ICC has been investigating for several years alleged crimes against humanity committed by the Venezuelan government in 2017 during opposition demonstrations. Some 200 people were killed.

“The investigation is […] active and ongoing. In this context, the Office is also closely monitoring the development of the situation in Venezuela since” the presidential election of July 28, recalled the prosecutor's office.

The spontaneous demonstrations that followed the announcement of Mr. Maduro's re-election left 27 dead and 192 injured. Some 2,400 people were arrested, according to an official source.

In Caracas, the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, a figure of the Venezuelan government, dismissed the accusations of harassment by the government against Mr. González Urrutia: “Edmundo left alone with his wife, they left quietly […], he said goodbye calmly, very relaxed,” he said ironically, adding that “it was a voluntary act, no one forced him.”

On Sunday, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab, considered to be under the government's orders, also joked about the opposition candidate's departure, referring to the end of “the season of a humorous work.”

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