Dutch embassy in Caracas sheltered Venezuela opposition leader before he fled

The Netherlands secretly sheltered Venezuela’s opposition candidate Edmundo González at the Dutch embassy in Caracas for six weeks before he fled to Spain on Sunday.

González was granted political asylum in Spain a month after his party presented voting records to prove his win in the July 28 presidential election. Venezuelan authorities declared Nicolás Maduro reelected to a third term and ordered González’s arrest.

“At his urgent request, the day after the elections, I decided to grant González hospitality for as long as necessary at the residence of the chargé d’affaires of the Netherlands in Caracas,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a letter to the parliament on Sunday.

Earlier this month, González wanted to leave the residence and “continue his struggle from Spain,” Veldkamp added.

The US and other countries have claimed González won the presidential vote. Nationwide protests erupted in Venezuela after the elections, with the government detaining 2,400 protesters and arresting four prominent opposition politicians.