Above photo: Photo composition juxtaposing a photo of the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid with a file photo in which former far-right opposition candidate Edmundo González posed from his house in Caracas. Orinoco Tribune.
The former presidential candidate of the Venezuelan far right, Edmundo González, has recognized the electoral victory of Nicolás Maduro in the presidential election of July 28 and is now abiding by the decision issued on August 22 by the Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), which—following an expert opinion process carried out by national and international analysts—validated the electoral results issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE) declaring Nicolás Maduro the winner.
González wrote a letter that he signed in front of the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly (AN), Jorge Rodríguez, which the deputy read this Wednesday, September 18, during a press conference.
“I have always been and will continue to be willing to recognize and abide by the decisions taken by the justice bodies within the framework of the Constitution,” reads the letter, “including the aforementioned ruling of the Electoral Chamber, which, although I do not agree with, I abide by because it is a resolution of the highest court of the Republic.”
Earlier, however, González’s lawyer, José Vicente Haro, stated on a local television program that, following González’s instructions, he wanted to let the public know that the far-right former candidate never signed any document recognizing the July 28 presidential elections results.
In the letter, in which González recognizes the legitimacy of the National Assembly (AN) when addressing Jorge Rodríguez, he also left a record of his “commitment” that his public activity outside of Venezuela will be limited, as mandated by the rules of international asylum.
“I do not intend in any case to exercise any formal or informal representation of public powers of the Venezuelan State,” he pledges in the letter. “I will be absolutely respectful of the institutions and interests of Venezuela, and I will always appeal to peace, dialogue, and national unity.”
On the eve of his departure to Europe, González held a meeting with the president of the AN, Jorge Rodríguez, and Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who attended on behalf of President Nicolás Maduro. The meeting was witnessed by the Spanish chargé d’affaires to Venezuela, Ramón Santos, according to Rodríguez, who shared a photo of the meeting.
On September 7, the former presidential candidate fled Venezuela and traveled on a Kingdom of Spain Air-force jet to Spain. The signing of the letter would have happened the day before.
Rodríguez signed the document as “received.” Rodríguez noted that the Spanish ambassador did not sign, because he was not authorized to do so. He also revealed that he held telephone conversations with González, in addition to face-to-face meetings.
Dismantling González’s manipulation
Upon hearing of Rodriguez’s statements about the letter signed by him, González published a video on social media informing that he had signed the letter under coercion, and that “a document produced under coercion is tainted by absolute nullity.”
While answering questions from the press, Jorge Rodríguez answered the statements with indignation, stating that González excuses were laughable, adding that if a retraction was not issued by González in 24 hours, he was going to release the audios of all the conversations they had before granting the asylum.
“Either I signed or I faced the consequences,” the former far-right opposition candidate claimed on social media. “There were very tense hours of coercion, blackmail, and pressure…”
Rodríguez, who described what González said as a lie, revealed that the meeting with the far-right politician at the Spanish embassy in Venezuela took place cordially and without any kind of pressure. In fact, during the meeting, the European diplomat, who acted as “host,” offered them some “Scotch,” referring to whiskey. Deputy Rodríguez commented jokingly that “he doesn’t like Scotch,” because, as a native of Lara state, he prefers cocuy or tequila.
In the letter that went viral this Wednesday, Edmundo González says that while at the headquarters of the embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in Venezuela, “I have conveyed my intention to request political asylum,” and added that “there is an understanding for the corresponding safe-conducts between the authorities of the Kingdom of Spain and the authorities of Venezuela.”
Jorge Rodríguez showed images and videos of the moment when Edmundo González boarded the Spanish Air Force plane to leave the country. He also commented that the plane was stationed at the hangar of the Vice Presidency of Venezuela to preserve the privacy of the former candidate, which the Venezuelan authorities had agreed to.