MADRID (Askume) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez met fugitive Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez in Madrid on Thursday. A day before the meeting, the lower house of the Spanish parliamentGonzález was recognized as the winner of the July presidential election .
Gonzalez, 75, who was wanted by Venezuelan authorities for conspiracy and other crimes , pleaded guilty on SundayWhen Sánchez traveled to China , he took refuge in Spain.
“I warmly welcome Edmundo Gonzalez to our country and we welcome him because he demonstrates Spain’s humanitarian commitment and solidarity with the Venezuelan people,” Sanchez wrote on the X social media platform.
The post showed a video of the couple and Gonzalez’s daughter walking through the gardens of the Moncloa Palace, the prime minister’s official residence.
Venezuela’s opposition released the vote count from July’s election and said Gonzalez had won by a landslide. But the national election commission declared outgoing President Nicolas Maduro the winner. He dismissed international criticism as a right-wing conspiracy.
In a symbolic move, Spain’s lower house of parliament approved a resolution on Wednesday urging the government to recognise Gonzalez as the elected president. Sanchez said his minority Socialist-led government would ignore the EU on the issue and align itself with it.
After approving the proposal, the Venezuelan parliament asked the government to end already fragile diplomatic relations with Spain.
Sanchez said Spain would continue to demand the release of a detailed vote count in the presence of EU mediators and would not recognise either Maduro or Gonzalez as the winner.
