Colombia regrets asylum granted to Edmundo González and calls for dialogue

The Colombia’s Foreign Ministry regretted on Monday the departure of Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia to Spain in political asylum status and advocated for dialogue to build an agreement that ensures political peace in Venezuela.

“The Colombian government regrets the departure of Edmundo González from Venezuela. It highlights the agreement between the governments of Spain and Venezuela to guarantee political asylum in compliance with the convention on diplomatic asylum adopted on March 28, 1954,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

González Urrutia requested asylum in Spain, considering that he was suffering political and judicial persecution in Venezuela after a court issued an arrest warrant against him following the disclosure of electoral records that would prove the opposition’s victory in the presidential elections of July 28.

The opposition leader remained in hiding for a month until September 5 at the Dutch Embassy in Caracas, until he moved to the Spanish Embassy, ​​where he remained until Saturday, when he left for Madrid.

“Colombia reaffirms that the political process in our sister country and in any country in the Americas must be surrounded by full guarantees. Once again, Colombia advocates dialogue to build an agreement that ensures political peace in our neighboring country,” the Foreign Ministry added.

Colombian President Gustavo Petroalong with their counterparts from Mexico and Brazil, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have attempted to mediate in the crisis that Venezuela has been experiencing since the electoral body announced the disputed victory of Nicolás Maduro in the elections.

Neither of these countries has yet recognised Maduro’s victory, but neither have they opted for González Urrutia, the opposition candidate, and are calling for the election results to be published and for opening avenues for dialogue between the two parties.