Jorge Rodriguez, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, said on Wednesday that Edmundo González Urrutia signed a document in which the opposition leader recognized the decision of the Supreme Court to ratify President Nicolás Maduro’s victory in the July 28 elections.
In a video posted to González’s Instagram on Wednesday, he stated that the alleged document signed by him is “absolutely null and void” as it is a 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 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 precinct level voting tabulations published by the opposition’s campaign team and reviewed by multiple media organizations and watchdogs.
In August, the Maduro-allied Supreme Court ratified the National Electoral Council’s (CNE) result which gave Maduro 52% of the vote but provided no detailed breakdown of the precinct-level voter tabulations.
In the days since the election, opposition figures, including González, went into hiding, and many had been abducted or arrested. On September 7, González fled to Spain after a warrant for his arrest was issued by the public prosecutor’s office. His departure took the country by surprise and the details surrounding it had been widely secretive.
On Wednesday, Rodriguez said that he had phone and in-person conversations 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 ruling. The photo could indicate that the meeting took place on diplomatic grounds.
However, González said, “There were very tense hours of coercion, blackmail and pressure,” where he considered he would be more useful free than locked up.
Rodríguez urged González to deny his statements about having signed the document under distress. He gave González a 24-hour period to rectify his stance or he “is going to release the audio [of their conversation].”
The Maduro government claimed that the document is a forceful statement that González recognized his “defeat,” as Rodriguez said. Yet, as indicated in Venezuela’s Civil Code, a document signed under coercion is null and void.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has denied any involvement in the negotiations between Maduro’s government and González.
