Venezuela opposition candidate Gonzalez leaves for Spain as diplomatic tensions rise

National flags of Brazil and Venezuela flutter at the Brazil-Venezuela border in the Brazilian city of Pacaraima, Roraima state, Brazil December 8, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo

BRASILIA/CARACAS (Reuters) -Venezuela's former presidential opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has left for Spain in the wake of the South American country's contested election, Venezuelan and Spanish officials said on Saturday night after a day of rising diplomatic tensions.

Gonzalez, 75, who ran against President Nicolas Maduro in July, left after "voluntarily seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago," Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez posted on Instagram.