The photo showing Edmundo Gonzalezwinner of the Venezuelan presidential election of July 28, signing, in the presence of the brothers Delcy And Jorge Rodriguez and the Spanish ambassador in Caracas Ramon Santosthe document in which you recognize de facto the alleged victory of Nicolas Maduroobliges the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albaresto provide explanations to Parliament.
Alberto Nuñez Feijoo And Esteban Gonzalez Pons They demanded Albares’ resignation due to the “coercion” that Edmundo González, in a video released this Wednesday, claims to have suffered. In it, the opposition leader denounces having been ““was subjected to blackmail and pressure” during “very tense hours” at the residence of the Spanish ambassador in Caracas, where he had taken refuge for several days.
Albares denied any form of coercion. “The Spanish ambassador had precise instructions not to hinder Edmundo González’s freedom to be able to speak, manage and meet with whoever he wanted,” he said.
The result of these coercions is known. Edmundo González signed the document that, according to him, would be treated as a “state secret” by the Maduro dictatorship. and therefore never made publicto guarantee his safety and his departure from Venezuela to Spain, where he was granted political asylum by the Spanish government.
The document included a clause in which Edmund committed himself not to develop any political activity in exile. That is, not to hinder the usurpation of power by the Chavistas with political statements or initiatives of any kind.
But the violation of the confidentiality of this agreement by the Maduro regime forced Edmundo González to record the aforementioned video, aware that the images in which he is seen giving in to the Rodríguez brothers would be interpreted as cowardice, if not as treason, by an opposition that is today even weaker than it already was.
The controversy coincides with the recognition by the European Parliament of Edmundo González’s victory, with the vote in favour of the right and the extreme right, and the vote against the left, the greens and the extreme left. A gesture of relative value, like that of the Congress of Deputies last week in the same sense, but with an undeniable symbolic value.
Edmundo González is not a coward. He is a 75-year-old man who accepted the enormous, but above all dangerous, responsibility of leading the opposition list to Nicolas Maduro and who then suffered the coercion of a criminal regime that placed him before an impossible dichotomy: o exile and silence, o arrest and imprisonment.
It is likely that Edmundo González does not deserve the description of “hero” that has been given to him either. Pedro Sanchez only 24 hours before your arrival in Spain. But debates about the moral qualities or the degree of bravery or cowardice demonstrated by the winner of the Venezuelan elections are not relevant here.
What is relevant is that there is evidence that Edmundo was pressured at the residence of the Spanish ambassador in Caracas by two hitmen of the Chavista regime to guarantee his departure from the country. A solution that contributes to consolidating Maduro in power, discredits the opposition and eliminates from the equation one of the only two symbols of some weight of resistance against Chavismo.
The presence of the ambassador in this photo obliges Albares, beyond the denial of any form of complicity with the Chavista dictatorshipto explain what the highest Spanish diplomatic representative in Venezuela knew, what he did and what he saw during those decisive hours in his residence.
If the Spanish government did not know anything and was not informed by Ramón Santos, the ambassador must be dismissed, as the PP demands. If you knew what was happening, you must inform the Spanish government of the conditions that led to the capitulation of Edmundo González.
In both cases, Santos must also report everything he saw in his residence, as well as who authorized the entry of two hitmen of the regime into his residence, which is not strictly Spanish territory, as is the embassy, but is a “protected territory” and with certain immunities. Among them, Delcy Rodríguez, sanctioned by the European Union for “human rights violations and undermining democracy and the rule of law in Venezuela”, and who are prohibited from entering the EU.
