Simon Hunter
THE Spanish government has accepted a political asylum request from Venezuelan opposition politician Edmundo Gonzalez, who is allegedly being persecuted by the administration of President Nicolas Maduro.
Diplomatic sources told reporters that Gonzalez was headed to Spanish shores on Saturday, after he sought protection in Spain’s embassy in Caracas several days ago.
Gonzalez is subject to an arrest warrant in his home country for alleged offences related to the publication of documentation online that questions the legitimacy of the recent election victory of Maduro.
The same sources said that former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had played a key role in the asylum request.
On Friday, current Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called Rodriguez a ‘hero’, and stated that Spain would not abandon him to his fate.
“Gonzalez has requested the right of asylum and Spain will of course grant it to him,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Saturday. “I have been able to talk to him, he has expressed his gratitude and I have expressed my happiness that he is well.”
Gonzalez ran as the opposition candidate at the recent presidential elections in Venezuela, and was shown to be the winner according to the voting data published by the opposition itself.
The National Electoral Commission, however, declared Maduro to have won, prompting an international outcry given that the election data to back that result has not been publicly shared.
