Caracas Chronicles

“Edmundo González is a hero that Spain will not abandon,” said Spanish president Pedro Sánchez after almost a month of a strange stance from Spain regarding the results of the Venezuela elections. This sudden change of tone was met with amazement and skepticism from different places of the Venezuela-watching community.

At 11:00 p.m. EST yesterday (September 7th), Maduro’s Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, posted a screenshot on her Instagram informing that Edmundo González Urrutia left the country after seeking asylum in the Spanish Embassy and receiving safe passage by the Maduro regime “for the sake of tranquility and political peace in the country.” This is what the post said:

“Today, September 7th, opposition citizen Edmundo González Urrutia left the country after seeking voluntary refuge in the Embassy of Spain in Caracas and staying there for several days. He requested political asylum before that government. Therefore, once the pertinent contacts between both government took place, and after complying with the particularities of the case and according to international law, Venezuela has granted safe passage for the sake of tranquility and political peace in the country. This action reconfirms the respect for the law with which the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has conducted itself in. the international community. In the coming hours we will keep informing.”

The strange tone and phrase crafting doesn’t come from the translation but from classic chavista mmgvo-speak.

After Maduro’s prosecutors and courts swiftly moved with the arrest warrant against González, there was much speculation on the whereabouts of the man who defeated Maduro in the presidential elections. As we’ve said before, there shouldn’t be much rodeo on calling things by there name—there’s enough evidence to prove González won.

In a letter delivered by González’s lawyer, José Vicente Haro, to Maduro’s chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab, the candidate detached himself from the strategy to post the voting records online. Later, Machado said that she assumed responsibility for it. The letter had a strange tone and particular respect for the prosecutor’s office. It should have been a clue that González was now in a lawyer-led strategy for his safekeeping. Haro had a three hour meeting with Saab, he said that it was cordial but that nothing came from it.

We’ve witnessed in the past how the remote-controlled or holographic opposition leadership quickly deflates and becomes a punchline that fuels the narratives of the government and the opposition’s opposition.

Then, on Friday night we had the siege of the Argentine Embassy, where a group of María Corina Machado staffers sought refuge after Maduro issued a warrant for their arrest during the campaign. The embassy’s staff had been kicked out of the country and Brazil had assumed the diplomatic protection of the premises, including the safekeeping of the Machado staffers. It was an aggressive siege, they cut the power off and the embassy was surrounded by heavily armed SEBIN and DAET agents. They didn’t break in, but the next day Maduro’s Foreign Ministry said that the government revoked Brazil’s protection and the international discussion shifted towards whether this legalism made any sense from an international law standpoint.

But it was a clear escalation in violence.

There’s still much to be understood of what’s going on, but several confirmations have been sprouting all over different official channels. The Spanish Foreign Minister confirmed that González was already in a Spanish Air Force plane en route to his final destination. According to Juan Diego Quesada from El País, González had been negotiating since early in the morning with Spanish diplomats and in that moment the asylum was offered to him. Quesada says that Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was one of the individuals behind the strategy.

The bafflement around Sánchez’s comments regarding González suddenly vanished.

From our point of view, Maduro never had the intention of arresting González. They could have apprehended him at any moment, the expected outcome was to make him leave. Remember they had Juan Guaidó skipping all over the country until they got bored and decided it was time to push him out.

As we said before, there is yet much to be understood. From what we’ve seen there was not a lot of people within the Comando por Venezuela privy to González’s exit. Also, it doesn’t seem as a strategy that would be very much aligned with the hasta el final (until the end) mantra. We’ve witnessed in the past how the remote-controlled or holographic opposition leadership quickly deflates and becomes a punchline that fuels the narratives of the government and the opposition’s opposition. Most people on the ground were putting their hopes on a longer term strategy that would look toward January 10th, the date in which the new president is supposed to take the oath of office. Let’s be clear, Edmundo González Urrutia’s political capital is one hundred percent borrowed. But still, the mandate fell on his lap—after a great deal of work of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans.

At this moment, a nation turns its lonely eyes to one person: María Corina Machado.

Update 9:08 a.m.

EU High Representative Josep Borrell said in a statement that González Urrutia had been given hospitality residence in the Embassy of the Netherlands for several days:

“Faced with repression, political persecution, and direct threats to his safety and freedom, after being given hospitality at the residence of the Netherlands in Caracas until September 5th, political leader and presidential candidate Edmundo González has had to request political asylum and accept the protection offered by Spain.”

This is helpful to piece together the timeline. He was in the Embassy of the Netherlands, we can assume, for a few days until September 5th. The arrest warrant was issued on September 2nd and the siege of the Argentine Embassy was on September 6th.

Update 9:43 a.m.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado reacts to Edmundo González Urrutia in Spain.

She says that González had to leave for his own security, but that he will keep on fighting from abroad and that he will take the oath of office on January 10th, 2025. Here’s a translation of her statement:

“To the Venezuelans,
Edmundo González Urrutía, President-elect of Venezuela, has left the country and is in Spain. Following our historic victory on July 28, 2024, the regime unleashed a brutal wave of repression against all citizens, classified as State terrorism by the IACHR, which included all types of attacks against the President-elect and those around him. His life was in danger, and the increasing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even attempts at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected, demonstrate that the regime has no scruples and no limits in its obsession with silencing him and trying to subdue him. Faced with this brutal reality, it is necessary for our cause to preserve his freedom, his integrity and his life. This operation by the regime and its allies is further evidence of their criminal nature, which delegitimizes and sinks them more and more every day. But, once again, they were wrong. Their attempted coup against Popular Sovereignty will not come to fruition. On January 10, 2025, President-Elect Edmundo González Urrutía will be sworn in as Constitutional President of Venezuela and Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces. Let this be very clear to everyone: Edmundo will fight from outside alongside our diaspora and I will continue to do so here, alongside you. Serenity, courage and firmness! Venezuelans, this fight is UNTIL THE END and victory is ours.”

Update 2:46 p.m.

The Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, Caspar Veldkamp, confirmed that Edmundo González Urrutia reached out to the Embassy in the days following the July 28th election to seek hospitality. Later, during the first days of September, González said he wished to leave the residence and the country.

Update 4:28 p.m.

Edmundo González Urrutia sends a voice note to the nation: “This morning I arrived in Madrid. My exit from Caracas was surrounded by episodes of pressure, coercion, and threats of not allowing my departure. I trust that we will soon continue the struggle to achieve freedom and the restoration of democracy in Venezuela.”

Update 09/09/24 – 11:00 a.m.

Edmundo González Urrutia issues a longer statement after yesterday’s voicenote:

“Dear Venezuelans!

I have decided to leave Venezuela and travel to Spain, whose government I deeply thank for welcoming me and providing me with protection during these times. I also extend my gratitude to the Embassy of the Netherlands in Venezuela.

This decision has been made with Venezuela in mind, knowing that our country’s destiny cannot, and should not, be one of pain and suffering.

I have done this thinking of my family and all Venezuelan families in this time of great tension and anguish. I have done this so that things may change, and we can build a new chapter for Venezuela.

You know that I have always defended the democratic values of peace and freedom.

My commitment is not driven by personal ambition; this decision is a gesture extended to everyone, and I hope it will be received as such.

I am incompatible with resentment. Only the politics of dialogue can bring us together as compatriots. Only democracy and the realization of the people’s will can be the path to our future as a nation, and I will remain committed to that.

I think especially of those who are deprived of liberty and have supported me. Their freedom is my top priority, an uncompromising demand.

I want to express my infinite gratitude to those who have supported me in Venezuela and around the world, especially my family.

I want to acknowledge the work and efforts of María Corina Machado, who led this electoral process, and of the Unitary Platform for their dedication and perseverance.

Thank you very much!
Edmundo González Urrutia
Madrid, September 9, 2024″