Venezuela vows to arrest opposition candidate if he returns home

BOGOTA, Colombia

Venezuela's interior minister said Thursday that former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, who fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, will be arrested if he returns to the country.

Speaking to state channel VTV, Diosdado Cabello emphasized that Gonzalez would be taken into custody as soon as he sets foot in Venezuela, saying there is no possibility that he will come to Venezuela to take the oath of office.

Cabello reiterated that President Nicolas Maduro won the July 28 presidential election and that he would be sworn in for a third term in front of the National Assembly on Jan. 10, 2025.

Gonzalez, speaking this week to Spanish news agency EFE, said he wanted to take the oath as president of Venezuela and that he was mentally prepared for the possibility of being arrested.

According to the results announced by the National Electoral Council on July 29, Maduro won for the third time with 51.20% of the vote.

Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado rejected the election results.

After an arrest warrant was issued for him, Gonzalez and his wife flew from Caracas to Madrid on Sept. 8 aboard a Spanish Air Force plane.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul