Venezuela opposition leader Gonzalez flies to Spain to seek asylum

Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez landed in Spain on Sunday to seek asylum, Madrid said, hours after quitting his country amid a political and diplomatic crisis over July's disputed election.

Gonzalez - who has challenged President Nicolas Maduro's declaration of victory - arrived at the Torrejon de Ardoz military base with his wife, Spain's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The dramatic exit of the 75-year-old - seen by the US, the EU and other powers in the region as the winner of the vote - came a week after Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes.

"Today is a sad day for democracy in Venezuela," European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement. "In a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country."

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Instagram authorities had given Gonzalez safe passage in a bid to restore "political peace".

He left Venezuela after "voluntarily seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago," she wrote.

Venezuela's opposition say the July 28 election resulted in a resounding victory for Gonzalez, and published vote tallies online that they say show he won.

Maduro dismissed all such assertions and said there was a right-wing plot to sabotage his government.

Gonzalez's move to Spain marked another jolting shift in the fortunes of the former diplomat who came out of retirement and took over the candidacy in March, initially as a placeholder after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and then another replacement could not stand.

Machado confirmed on X that Gonzalez was now in Spain.

She added that it was "necessary for our cause to preserve his freedom, his integrity and his life" after "increasing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even the blackmail and coercion attempts" by the Venezuelan government. There was no immediate reaction to her statement by the authorities.

Embassies, talks

Spain's foreign ministry said Gonzalez's asylum process would now start - "the resolution of which will be favourable in view of Spain's commitment to the political rights and physical integrity of all Venezuelan men and women, especially political leaders".

Gonzalez had sought refuge in the Dutch and then the Spanish embassy in Venezuela after the election, Dutch and Venezuelan officials said.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a letter to his parliament on Sunday that Gonzalez had urgently requested refuge in the Dutch embassy the day after the election.

"At the beginning of September, Edmundo Gonzalez indicated that he ... wanted to leave and continue his fight from Spain", Veldkamp added.

Spanish officials, including former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, held a week of negotiations with Venezuelan authorities for Gonzalez to leave the country, a source with knowledge of the talks told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.