Venezuela’s exiled former presidential candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, returns to South America Friday in a show of defiance as Caracas prepares to inaugurate current President Nicolas Maduro, who has been in office since 2013.
González’s first stop: a meeting with Argentina’s far-right President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires on Saturday. Milei has been a vocal critic of the Venezuelan regime, calling Maduro a “criminal” after Venezuela expelled Argentina’s diplomats in the aftermath of the contentious election, which was marred with allegations of vote rigging.
It is unclear where else González plans on going during his tour; he has previously pledged to return to Venezuela to inaugurate his own government.
The former diplomat fled the country in September and sought asylum in Spain after a warrant was issued for his arrest by Venezuela’s public prosecutor’s office, amid a crackdown on the country’s opposition movement.
The warrant capped off a fractious few months, which saw Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), a body stacked with Maduro allies, formally declare the longtime strongman the winner of the July 28 election -– without providing voting tallies.
The official results attracted widespread skepticism from abroad as the opposition insisted that it had won, releasing tens of thousands of voting tallies gathered from across the country, that they said proved González won by a landslide.
The United States and Argentina, among others, have gone on to recognize González as Venezuela’s rightful president-elect.
But Maduro has repeatedly dismissed claims that the vote was stolen, and says he is ready to begin a new term on January 10.
For González, returning to Venezuela would be filled with risk. On Thursday, Venezuela’s Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigation Corps (CICPC) offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to González’s arrest, it said on Instagram.
CICPC said González is wanted for several crimes, including conspiracy, complicity in the use of violent acts against the republic, usurpation of functions, forgery of documents, money laundering, disregard for State institutions, instigation to disobedience of the law and criminal association.