Edmundo González Urrutia, a former presidential candidate from Venezuela, has fled the country and taken refuge in Spain. This dramatic escape was announced by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who confirmed that González had been hiding in the Spanish embassy in Caracas for several days before officially seeking asylum in Spain.
Here’s how it all unfolded: González, who ran for president on behalf of the United Right opposition, found himself in serious legal trouble. He was wanted by Venezuelan authorities after repeatedly failing to appear in court. The charges against him involve publishing sensitive opposition polling data during the presidential election. This data was released on an online platform at the same time the official results were being announced by the electoral commission. The authorities also accuse González of encouraging street violence during the tense post-election period.
On July 28, the Venezuelan presidential election took place, and the next day, Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner with 51% of the votes. But this victory was immediately followed by protests. Thousands of angry Venezuelans took to the streets, sparking violent clashes between protesters and police. People hurled stones and Molotov cocktails, and in response, over 2,000 individuals were arrested for vandalism, inciting hatred, and alleged terrorism.
As unrest gripped the nation, González, one of Maduro’s most vocal critics, became a prime target. Knowing the risks, he sought refuge in the Spanish embassy. He stayed hidden for days, eventually asking the Spanish government for asylum, hoping to escape persecution.
Venezuelan authorities, according to Rodriguez, allowed González to leave the country to maintain “political peace” and prove that the government follows the rule of law on the global stage. However, some see this move as the government’s way of neutralizing a key opposition figure without stirring more controversy.
Now, Edmundo González Urrutia has found temporary safety in Spain, while Venezuela remains engulfed in tension, torn between support for President Maduro and the ongoing unrest fueled by his critics.
Meanwhile, the United States has seized Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s jet for sanctions violations. Earlier, GreatGameInternational revealed a failed plot to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. This scheme, secretly backed by wealthy U.S. billionaires, was led by a former U.S. Green Beret, Jordan Goudreau, who ran a private security firm in Florida called Silvercorp USA. He had once been the security chief for British billionaire Richard Branson. Venezuelan intelligence managed to shut down the plot before it could take off. This attempted coup came shortly after Maduro announced Venezuela’s plans to sue the U.S. in the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the economic sanctions that had devastated the country. Interestingly, Venezuela was able to get around some of these sanctions with the help of a partnership between India and Russia. Now, investigators have discovered Jordan Goudreau’s DNA on assault rifles that were smuggled from the U.S. to South America, further linking him to the plot.
