“I had to sign to be allowed to leave the country,” Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia said on Wednesday, claiming to have written “under duress” a letter distributed by the authorities in which he said he “respected” the court decision validating the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro.
“The president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, and the vice president of the Republic, Delcy Rodriguez, presented me with a document that I had to sign to be allowed to leave the country. In other words, I had to sign or face the consequences,” González Urrutia explains in a video on social networks.
He found political asylum in Spain on September 8. He was the subject of an arrest warrant for not responding to court summonses.
On Wednesday, the Spanish Senate in turn demanded that Madrid recognize him as the elected president of Venezuela. The lower house of the Spanish parliament had done the same last week.
“There were very tense hours of coercion, blackmail and pressure. I thought I could be more useful free than in prison,” he continues.
“As the president elected by millions and millions of Venezuelans who voted for change, democracy and peace, I will not allow myself to be silenced. I will never betray them. […] What they [les autorités] should publish, these are the minutes of the vote count” of the presidential election of July 28, he concludes.
” Blackmail “
His lawyer, Mr.e José Vicente Haro, denounced to AFP on Wednesday evening “a blackmail which, from a technical and legal point of view, constitutes a defect of consent leading to the absolute nullity of the document”, stressing that “practically, he had the choice between asylum or being deprived of his freedom”.
He also mentioned the surprise departure of Mr González Urrutia on the evening of Saturday 7th and his arrival in Madrid the following day: “The last time we spoke [avant qu’il ne parte] At 6am on Saturday I saw him under a lot of pressure with little opportunity to express himself. It was a video call where I can see […] a psychologically and emotionally broken person […] which says a lot about the pressures he was under.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said in an interview broadcast Wednesday that it was necessary to “make Mr. Maduro understand that repression and crimes against humanity have consequences.”
“His best option, and soon I would say his only option, will be to accept the terms of a negotiation with us for a democratic transition,” she insisted on the Argentine channel LN+.
Those in Mr. Maduro’s entourage “are beginning to understand that the best option for them is to facilitate this transition,” Mr.me Machado, who has been living in hiding since the announcement of the contested presidential results.
Mme Machado had won the opposition primary but was unable to run because she had been declared ineligible by the government.
“A coward”
On the government side, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, stepped up to assure that there had been no pressure from the government during the discussions with Mr. González Urrutia.
“It was a cordial tone, a polite tone, […] “There was no coercion or pressure,” Rodriguez said at a news conference where he showed the letter and a photo of the meeting at the Spanish embassy residence.
“Forgive me if I’m rude, Mr. González Urrutia. At best, you’re a coward. No human force would force me to put my name on a document,” he said at a press conference.
He ended by asking Mr. González Urrutia to withdraw his remarks: “You have 24 hours left. If you insist that it was a coercion, I will show the behind the scenes of the conversation.”
Me Haro clarified on Wednesday that Mr. González Urrutia would not respond to Mr. Rodriguez’s comments.
In the letter, dated September 7 and distributed by the government on social networks, González Urrutia writes: “I have always been and will continue to be willing to recognize and respect the decisions adopted by the justice bodies.” […]including the aforementioned decision of the Electoral Chamber [de la Cour suprême]which, although I do not agree with it, I respect because it is a resolution of the highest court.”
The Venezuelan Supreme Court has validated the re-election for a third term of Mr. Maduro proclaimed by the National Electoral Council (CNE) with 52% of the votes.
The opposition claims, with supporting records, that Mr González Urrutia won the presidential election with more than 60% of the vote.
The CNE, however, has not made public the minutes of the polling stations, claiming to be the victim of computer hacking, which the opposition considers to be implausible.
Upon his arrival in Spain on September 8, Mr. González Urrutia declared that he would continue “the fight” for the “reestablishment of democracy in Venezuela.”