Venezuela opposition candidate not seeking asylum despite arrest risk, says lawyer
Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has not sought asylum despite an arrest warrant over his claim of winning the July presidential election, his lawyer said. The prosecutor's office accused him of "serious crimes". Gonzalez Urrutia, in hiding since July 28, has ignored three summons from prosecutors.
Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has not sought asylum, his lawyer said Tuesday, as the international community slammed an arrest warrant issued over his insistence that he won the July presidential election.
The Venezuelan public prosecutor's office said Monday that a court had approved its arrest warrant for Gonzalez Urrutia over "serious crimes" related to the opposition's claim that President Nicolas Maduro and his allies stole the election.
Gonzalez Urrutia, who has been in hiding since shortly after the July 28 polls, had ignored three summons to appear before prosecutors.
"No asylum has been requested," Jose Vicente Haro told reporters outside Gonzalez Urrutia's house in Caracas. "That is a matter that has not been raised by the family or Mr Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia."
The arrest warrant prompted an outcry from the international community, with the United States, European Union, and nine Latin American countries rejecting it outright.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington and its allies condemned the "unjustified arrest warrant," calling the action "just another example of Mr Maduro's efforts to maintain power by force."
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell wrote on X that he "categorically" rejects the warrant.
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