Edmundo González Urrutia, considered as the president-elect of Venezuela by the United States, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, and Panama, will not leave this country despite the arrest warrant issued against him by the Public Ministry, an entity that, according to NGOs and international organizations, is subordinate to Nicolás Maduro.
PUBLICIDAD
The former ambassador, 75 years old, is in hiding, while his wife Mercedes López, also 75 years old, remains at their home in Caracas with her lawyers waiting for police officials in case of any search or legal proceedings. For now, their residence is not a safe place for González, who believes his life is at risk from Maduro's government entities, to whom the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced as the winner of the July 28 elections without publishing the vote tally sheets.
PUBLICIDAD
Despite the arrest warrant against him, the opposition leader will not leave Venezuela. This was stated by his lawyer José Vicente Haro in an interview with La Nación. "In no way does Edmundo González Urrutia consider this possibility: neither leaving Venezuela, nor seeking asylum, nor taking refuge in an embassy as a guest. These are alternatives that he does not believe correspond to the will of the Venezuelan people expressed on July 28 in the presidential elections."
In the face of this, Edmundo González protects himself by constantly changing locations. "He has to go from house to house to protect his life," Haro told W Radio. In his conversation with La Nación, he mentioned that "he must change locations, as a situation typical of someone in the midst of a political persecution."
Despite everything, the lawyer highlighted that González "is doing very well, remains firm, with a strong character, very hopeful, and working on what is necessary". The opponent has not spoken out after the arrest warrant against him, but they assure that he will do so when he deems it necessary and through his social networks.
Edmundo González, his wife, and the courage of both
For now, the opposition leader has left his home "permanently", not only for his own well-being, but for that of his family as well.
“It is not planned for him to return home because his life, safety, and physical integrity are at risk,” said Haro, who is accompanying Edmundo's wife at her home. “I am here with her providing support in case any authority arrives to carry out a judicial order, which has not happened so far, with the purpose of apprehending González Urrutia… we will be monitoring to ensure the freedom, life, and safety of Edmundo González Urrutia's wife.”
Regarding his wife, the lawyer highlighted that "she has maintained a remarkable strength, courage, and bravery while calmly waiting at home for all of this to pass, although she is tired of this situation because it is not pleasant to have all these threats and harassment from state officials."
Irregularities in the arrest warrant against Edmundo González
The lawyer José Vicente Haro told La Nación that the Public Ministry has not formally sent them the notification with the arrest warrant, which is irregular. However, he emphasized that this does not surprise him.
"We already had information that it was on its way, but we have not received it, we know about it through social media, which is very strange," he said.
The arrest warrant against Edmundo González is for the crimes of usurpation of functions, forgery of public documents, incitement to disobedience of laws, conspiracy, sabotage of systems damage, and association.
"González Urrutia is being attributed with having safeguarded, transported, digitized, and uploaded this to the website, even having purchased the domain and hosting of that website. And I can tell you, and this is what the PUD (Democratic Unitary Platform) said last Thursday, that he had nothing to do with all the digitization, safeguarding, custody, and uploading of the records to that website. That was a voluntary action by the election witnesses legally accredited by the CNE," the lawyer said.
On Tuesday night, his wife Mercedes shared a message on social media, thanking for the prayers and messages. "God bless you and bless all the thoughts, prayers, and especially those who carry us on the side of the heart where they carry Venezuela. Your messages comfort us! We have each other and forever!", she wrote.