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.
Prior to leaving the country, Mr González had been in hiding for a month, ignoring three successive summons to appear before prosecutors.
Post-election violence in Venezuela has claimed 27 lives and left 192 people injured while the government says it has arrested some 2,400 people.
