Maduro says González Urrutia asked him for “clemency” to leave Venezuela

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said on Thursday, September 19, that his rival in the presidential elections, Edmundo González Urrutia, asked him for “clemency” to allow him to leave Venezuela and request asylum in Spain, while dismissing the accusations of “coercion” made by the opponent.

“In the end, I feel sorry for you, Mr. González Urrutia, who asked me for clemency, but you do not keep your word, you do not keep your word for what you have committed to and you allege your own clumsiness and your own cowardice in order to try to save I don’t know what,” Maduro said, referring to the statements of the 75-year-old former diplomat, who said he had been “coerced” by Venezuelan authorities into exile.

“No one can claim their own cowardice,” Maduro

“I feel sorry for the rooster (a rooster that is not good for fighting), in the end it turned out to be a rooster (…). No one can claim their own clumsiness in self-defense. González Urrutia, no one can claim their own cowardice and their own betrayal of their followers in self-defense,” said Maduro.

The president’s reaction is in response to a message from González Urrutia following the publication of a letter signed by him and the president of Parliament, the powerful Chavista leader Jorge Rodríguez, in which an agreement was set out for his departure from Venezuela.

Gonzalez Urrutia “legitimate president” of Venezuela

“While I was sheltering in the residence of the Spanish ambassador, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, and the vice president of the Republic, Delcy Rodríguez, showed up with a document that I would have to sign to allow me to leave the country,” González said. “In other words, I either signed it or I would face the consequences.”

Refugee in Spain

González Urrutia, who has been a refugee in Spain since September 8, denounces fraud and claims victory in the elections.

The European Parliament recognized him on Thursday as the “legitimate president” of Venezuela, amid questions about Maduro’s re-election on July 28, in a resolution that the Venezuelan Parliament described as a “disastrous aggression.”

The United States and several Latin American governments also recognized González Urrutia as the winner.

Continue reading:

• European Parliament recognizes Edmundo González as Venezuelan president-elect
• They demand that the Spanish government clarify its role in the “coercion” of González by the Maduro regime
• González Urrutia highlights the invalidity of the letter to recognize Maduro due to “coercion” by the regime