A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The candidate who is widely believed to have won the July presidential election in Venezuela is no longer in the country.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Edmundo Gonzalez was facing arrest for challenging the results of that election, defying authorities. Instead of being arrested, he flew to Spain over the weekend, where he has been granted political asylum.
MARTÍNEZ: Reporter John Otis has been covering the story, joins us now. John, Gonzalez appeared to have won the election by a landslide, but instead of moving into the palace, he fled to Spain. So what happened?
JOHN OTIS: Yeah, it's quite a twist. Most electoral observers believe Gonzalez won the July 28 election. In fact, the opposition published voter tally sheets showing Gonzalez leading President Nicolas Maduro by a 2 to 1 margin. The problem is that Maduro controls all branches of power in Venezuela and is backed by the military. He could also face arrest overseas for drug trafficking and other crimes if he were to actually step down.
So Maduro simply declared that he won the election, and then he launched a brutal crackdown on the opposition. His regime has now jailed more than 2,000 people, and they were about to arrest Gonzalez who hid out in the Spanish Embassy in Caracas.
MARTÍNEZ: So how did he manage to get out?
OTIS: Well, there were a lot of behind-the-scenes negotiations, and then over the weekend, the Maduro regime came out with a statement saying Gonzalez could leave the country. So then along with his wife, he boarded a Spanish military aircraft and flew to Madrid. And once there, he released this brief message to his followers.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
EDMUNDO GONZALEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: So here Gonzalez is saying, my departure from Caracas was surrounded by acts of pressure, coercion and threats. I trust that we will soon continue our fight for freedom and the restoration of Venezuelan democracy.
MARTÍNEZ: So how can he do that if he's now in exile?
OTIS: Yeah. I mean, that's a good question. Gonzalez joins an ever-expanding group of exiled Venezuelans who've gone to Spain. That includes four previous presidential hopefuls. But once politicians leave, it usually means that they're gone for good. It's starting to resemble Cuba's exile community that's based in Miami but has really very little political influence on the island. So in the end, the Maduro regime - it may be that they're quite pleased that Gonzalez is no longer inside of Venezuela.
MARTÍNEZ: But is there anyone left inside Venezuela that maybe can fight for democracy?
OTIS: There is. There's still Maria Corina Machado. Remember, she was going to be the opposition presidential candidate, but she was banned from running and selected Gonzalez as her last-minute stand-in. Machado has gone into hiding. But she's also been making some dramatic appearances at opposition rallies. However, at this point, the opposition really is up against a wall. They were hoping the U.S. and other countries would recognize Gonzalez as Venezuela's new president-elect. But now that seems out of the question now that he's out of the country.
MARTÍNEZ: And it seems like that all adds up to Maduro being around for a while.
OTIS: Yeah. That's exactly what it does look like. Despite his dismal showing at the polls, Maduro is insisting that he won another six-year term. And that's on top of his ruling party already controlling Venezuela for the past quarter century.
MARTÍNEZ: That's John Otis, who's been reporting on Venezuela for us. John, thank you.
OTIS: Thanks.
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