Edmundo González’s departure was due to anti-democratic measures

The United States government considered that the Opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia leaves Venezuela It is a consequence of the “anti-democratic” measures of the Nicolás Maduro regime.

«His departure from Venezuela It is the direct result of the anti-democratic measures that Nicolás Maduro has unleashed since the elections against the Venezuelan people, including against González Urrutia and other opposition leaders,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Sunday.

The opposition leader, who is in Spain, remains in his opinion “an indisputable voice for peace and democratic change in Venezuela,” and The United States supports him in his call to continue “the fight for freedom and the restoration of democracy.”

Edmundo González requested asylum, considering that he was suffering political and judicial persecution in Venezuela after the presidential elections of July 28, whose official victory was awarded to Maduro by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

That result was later validated by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), but the opposition insists that the winner was González Urrutia and bases this claim on the “83.5%” of the electoral records that it claims to have collected from witnesses and table members on voting day.

Blinken noted that Venezuelans expressed on July 28 “overwhelmingly and unequivocally their desire for democratic change” He added that “the election results and the will of the people cannot simply be ignored by Maduro and the Venezuelan electoral authorities.”

The United States, it said, “strongly condemns Maduro’s decision to use repression and intimidation to cling to power through brute force rather than acknowledge his defeat at the ballot box.”

«In the past six weeks, Maduro has unjustly arrested nearly 2,000 Venezuelans, has used censorship and threats to silence opposition to his government and has violated Venezuelan laws to remain in power against the will of the Venezuelan people.”

Blinken therefore reiterated his country’s request “to cease the repression and immediately release all those unjustly detained,” and said that his government will continue to work with its international partners to defend democratic freedoms in Venezuela and ensure that Maduro and his representatives are held accountable for their actions.

Edmundo Gonzalez in Spain

Edmundo González said on Sunday that his departure from Venezuela, bound for Spain after requesting asylum and being granted safe conduct by the government of Nicolás Maduro, “was surrounded by episodes of pressure, coercion and threats.”

“My departure from Caracas was surrounded by episodes, pressure, coercion and threats of not allowing my departure,” he said in a WhatsApp audio that his coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), released to the media.

In the message, González Urrutia added that he will continue “the fight to achieve freedom and the restoration of democracy in Venezuela,” while expressing his “gratitude” for “the expressions of solidarity” after his departure from the country.