• Urrutia took refuge at the Spanish embassy in Caracas, requesting political asylum.
• Urrutia was arrested following the election due to his insistence on his rightful victory.
• Post-election violence in Venezuela has resulted in 27 deaths and 192 injuries.

On Saturday, the Venezuelan government announced that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who had been in hiding after challenging President Nicolas Maduro’s disputed reelection, has left the country and sought 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 be reached for comment immediately. Venezuela has been facing a political crisis since authorities declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 election. The opposition has alleged foul play, claiming to have evidence that Gonzalez Urrutia won by a comfortable margin.

Numerous nations, including the United States, the European Union, and several Latin American countries, have refused to recognize Maduro as the winner until Caracas releases detailed voting data. Following the election, Venezuelan prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez Urrutia due to his insistence that he is the rightful winner.

Before leaving the country, he had been hiding for a month and had ignored three consecutive summons to appear before prosecutors. Post-election violence in Venezuela has resulted in 27 deaths and 192 injuries, while the government reports arresting approximately 2,400 people.

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