Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia said today that in order to leave Venezuela for Spain he was forced to sign a document recognizing the official results of the July elections that gave victory to Nicolás Maduro.
"While I was at the residence of the Spanish ambassador, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, and the vice-president of the Republic, Delcy Rodríguez, presented me with a document that I had to sign in order to leave the country," he explained in a video posted on social media.
The video was released after the president of the parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, presented, at a press conference in Caracas, a letter allegedly signed "voluntarily" by Edmundo González Urrutia, recognizing a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice that ratified Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the presidential elections of 28 July.
Jorge Rodríguez also presented several photos of a meeting with Edmundo González, when he was at the residence of the Spanish Embassy in Caracas, before he was granted a safe-conduct pass to travel to Madrid.
In the video, Edmundo González Urrutia states that "he either signed or faced the consequences", and stresses that "a document produced under duress is vitiated by absolute nullity due to a serious defect of consent".
The politician states that "the regime wants all Venezuelans to lose hope", but that "the whole world knows that they always resort to dirty tricks, blackmail and manipulation".
"Those were very tense hours of coercion, blackmail and impressions (...). In those moments, I considered that I could be more useful free than imprisoned and unable to carry out tasks", he added.
"As president elected by millions and millions of Venezuelans who voted for change, democracy and peace, they will not silence me. I will never betray them. Each and every person I spoke to today knows that," he says.
He also says that the international community continues to reinforce its support for the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people.
"They should be releasing the results of the vote. The truth is what it is and lies in what they are trying to hide. They will not silence a country that has already spoken. Millions of Venezuelans want change and I will fulfill that mandate," he concludes.
Edmundo González Urrutia arrived in Madrid on Sunday on a Spanish Air Force plane to request political asylum, after having denounced the fraud in the Venezuelan presidential elections.
Venezuela held presidential elections on July 28, after which the National Electoral Council (CNE) attributed the victory to Nicolás Maduro with just over 51% of the vote. The Venezuelan opposition disputes the official data and claims that its candidate, former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia – currently exiled in Spain – obtained almost 70% of the vote.
The Venezuelan opposition and many countries have denounced electoral fraud and demanded that the voting records be presented for independent verification.
The election results were contested in the streets, with demonstrations repressed by security forces, with the authorities recording more than 2,400 arrests, 27 deaths and 192 injuries.
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