Venezuela says presidential opposition candidate has left country

The Venezuelan government said Saturday opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia — in hiding after he challenged President Nicolas Maduro’s disputed reelection — has left the country, seeking asylum in Spain.

“After taking refuge voluntarily at the Spanish embassy in Caracas a few days ago, (Gonzalez Urrutia) asked the Spanish government for political asylum,” Venezuela’s vice president said on social media, adding that Caracas had agreed to his safe passage and that he had left.

The opposition could not immediately be reached for comment.

Venezuela has been in a political crisis since authorities declared Maduro the victor of the July 28 election. The opposition cried foul, claiming it had evidence Gonzalez Urrutia had won by a comfortable margin.

Numerous nations, including the United States, European Union and several Latin American countries, have refused to recognize Maduro as the winner without Caracas releasing detailed voting data.

After the election, Venezuelan prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez Urrutia over his insistence that he is the rightful winner of the election.

Prior to leaving the country, he had been in hiding for a month, ignoring three successive summons to appear before prosecutors.

Post-election violence in Venezuela has claimed 27 lives and left 192 people injured while the government says it has arrested some 2,400 people. (BSS/AFP)