Edmundo González has not requested political asylum from any embassy, ​​according to his lawyer

Former Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia remains in Venezuela and has not requested political asylum from any embassy accredited in the country following the arrest warrant issued against him, his lawyer said Tuesday, citing his relatives.

“Asylum has not been requested, nor has a request been made to be a guest in an embassy; this is an issue that has not been raised by the family or by Mr. Edmundo González Urrutia, according to what I have been informed by the relatives who are my channels of communication,” lawyer José Vicente Haro told reporters.

The lawyer added that González Urrutia’s wife remains in her residence in Caracas and that, in the event that the authorities were to execute a search warrant, constitutional rights and guarantees must be preserved.

In recent days, María Corina Machado, winner of the opposition presidential primary but disqualified from holding public office, warned that authorities could raid the former candidate’s home.

At the request of the Public Ministry (MP) a court issued on Monday an arrest warrant against the 75-year-old retired ambassador for publishing the minutes kept by his polling station witnesses after the presidential elections of July 28, which, according to the opposition, gave him the victory with 67% of the votes.

The prosecution is investigating him for the alleged commission of the crimes of “usurpation of functions, forgery of public documents, instigation to disobedience of laws, conspiracy, sabotage to damage systems and association.”

González Urrutia, who has denounced the lack of guarantees by the judiciary, considered an arm of the executive branch, last participated in a public event on July 30, two days after the elections, and since then has limited his appearances to videos on social media.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Nicolás Maduro the winner for a third term and, more than a month after the election, has not released the detailed results, which has been questioned by dozens of countries.

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