María Corina reacts to Edmundo González's departure from Venezuela: "Serenity and courage"

The opposition leader of Venezuela, María Corina Machado, spoke out this Sunday about the departure of former presidential candidate Edmundo González from Venezuela to Spain.

"His life was in danger, and the increasing threats, subpoenas, arrest warrants, and even the attempts at blackmail and coercion he has faced demonstrate that the regime has no scruples or limits in its obsession to silence him and try to bend him," Machado said in a statement published on his X social media account.

Previously, the opposition leader had endorsed the victory on July 28 of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), a political alliance made up of civil society, unions, retired military personnel, and the political parties that have come together to confront chavismo.

Therefore, he went on to say that "in the face of this brutal reality, it is necessary for our cause to preserve his freedom, his integrity, and his life," referring to Edmundo González.

He denounced that the persecution carried out by the Maduro regime "is further evidence of its criminal nature, which delegitimizes them and sinks them more each day," referring both to the visible faces of the opposition movement and to other people who have been imprisoned by the Chavistas.

Machado stated that Edmundo will be sworn in as Constitutional President of Venezuela and Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces on January 10, 2025.

"Let this be very clear to everyone: Edmundo will fight from outside alongside our diaspora, and I will continue to do so here, alongside you," he said categorically, asking Venezuelans and the international community for "serenity, courage, and firmness."

This Sunday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Spain, José Manuel Albares, reported on Edmundo's trip to Spain, a fact that he clarified was at the request of the former presidential candidate.

On Monday, September 2, the Attorney General's Office of Venezuela issued an arrest warrant against Edmundo, citing crimes of usurpation of functions, forgery of public documents, incitement to disobedience of the laws, association to commit a crime, and conspiracy. The international rejection was immediate.

At the beginning of August, a document signed by Attorney General Tarek William Saab initiated a criminal investigation against María Corina and Edmundo González, accusing them of "instigation to insurrection."