Jorge Rodriguez, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, said Wednesday that Edmundo González Urrutia signed a document in which the opposition leader recognizes the Supreme Court’s decision to ratify President Nicolás Maduro’s victory in the July 28 election.
In a video posted on González’s Instagram on Wednesday, he declared that the document allegedly signed by him is “absolutely invalid” as it is the result of “coercion” and “blackmail” by Rodríguez and his sister, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. to allow his departure from the country to Spain.
“Either I signed, or I faced the consequences,” González said from Spain, where he has been since September 7.
González is the opposition’s presidential candidate, widely recognized as the winner of the July election, as revealed by regional voting tabulations released by the opposition’s campaign team and reviewed by numerous media organizations and observers.
In August, the Maduro-allied Supreme Court ratified the result of the National Electoral Council (CNE) which gave Maduro 52% of the vote, but did not provide a detailed breakdown of the voter tables at the central level.
In the days after the election, opposition figures, including González, went into hiding and many were kidnapped or arrested. On September 7, González fled to Spain after an arrest warrant was issued by the public prosecutor’s office. His departure took the country by surprise and the details of it had been widely kept under wraps.
On Wednesday, Rodriguez said he spoke by phone and in person with González at the Spanish ambassador’s residence in Caracas, where the 75-year-old stayed while seeking asylum.
Rodriguez also showed a photo of González and the Rodriguez siblings signing the document recognizing the Court’s decision. The photo may indicate that the meeting was held for diplomatic reasons.
However, González said, “There were very tense hours of coercion, blackmail and pressure,” where he thought he would be more useful free than locked up.
Rodríguez asked González to deny his statements that he had signed the document in difficulty. He gave González a 24-hour period to correct his position or he “will release the audio [of their conversation].”
The Maduro government claimed the document is a strong statement that González recognized his “loss,” as Rodriguez put it. However, as indicated in the Civil Code of Venezuela, a document signed under duress is invalid.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has denied any involvement in the negotiations between Maduro’s government and González.
